


The Tragedy of Hope

by AngelDesaray



Series: Of Love and War [5]
Category: Star Wars - AU, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Altered Characters, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Anyone can die, BAMF Luke Skywalker, Background Relationships, Betrayal, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Complicated Relationships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feels, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Jedi Luke Skywalker, Light Angst, Loss, Lost Love, Major Injury, Major character death - Freeform, Multi, Nightmares, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Nothing's Changed, Peril, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Some Listed Characters are actually Dead, Some Relationships are posthumous, Space Battles, Take some of the characters/Relationships with a grain of salt I'm time jumping in the beginning, Time Skips, Tragedy, Tragic Romance, Trained Luke Skywalker, Trauma, Unrequited Love, Yet Everything's Changed, Zelina Du'ahn, life and death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2019-10-21 09:17:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 63,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17640023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelDesaray/pseuds/AngelDesaray
Summary: READ THE OTHER BOOKS FIRST OR YOU W.I.L.L. BE LOST, COMPLETELY AND ENTIRELY, NO QUESTION!!!  The Empire rules over the galaxy, the Rebellion struggles to hold on to hope.  The events of the past finally are unveiled and gain purpose as a hero kept secret finally steps into the galaxy.  But no action comes without a cost.





	1. Prologue: Beneath the Burning Suns

_**(19 Years After the Rise of the Empire)** _

Grains of sand whipped through the air, scratching along the little exposed skin of his face in what seemed every opportunity it could get. Goggles protected his eyes, and a wrap of fabric wound around his lower face and neck protected the rest. He'd have to shake the sand out of his hair once he got back under shelter, because the hat wasn't doing much to protect it.

Business as usual.

Sand crumbled free of the GX-8 water vaporator sensor, disappearing into the cooler sand that circled around the ground of the machine. There was more to coax out, difficult clumps hiding in hard-to-reach corners, but he had enough experience it wasn't going to be a problem. After the sand was free, he'd check the lubricants—refill them if needed—check the temperature of the refrigeration units and adjust them if needed, then he'd move on to the next.

The end of the day was fast approaching, indicated by the lower position of the suns and temperatures of Tatooine's barren surface. Not only that, but he had a firm grasp of how long it took him to do maintenance on a vaporator that was giving him problems, so he knew how long it would take him to check his share of the 63 vaporators on the Lars property. As a result, he knew he only had about four more, depending on whether or not Owen was almost finished with his share. If not, then he didn't see anything wrong with taking on a few extra vaporators so they could head back to the house at the same time, or at least not long afterwards.

"Got it," he mumbled to himself as a particularly hard-to-reach clump of sand crumbled free so he could scrape it to the ground. On a whim, he glanced up at the twin suns, quickly gauging the time by their position in the sky.

He might just have to finish his half and head back so he wouldn't be _too_ late—if he was needed for the night, then he wanted to be relatively on time. The longer it took him to get back, the less time they'd spend at the cantina.

After one last quick examination to make sure the vaporator was operating at peak capacity, he put away his tools and got to his feet to move onto the next.

Almost done.

* * *

"How did the rest of them look?"

"Nothing worse then usual. Just some sand clogging up the components. A few needed a lubricant refill, two needed temperature adjustments."

"You didn't have to get the others, I could have done them."

He glanced over at Owen with a small smile, knowing it was the other man's own way of saying _thank you_. "I figured I might as well, that way we can both get back at a decent time. Besides, the Sand People come out the later it gets—I didn't want you out here on your own," he said pointedly.

Owen shifted in the driver's seat, though he couldn't tell if it was from discomfort. "I would've been fine."

 _Right…but I'd rather be safe than sorry_.

He hummed in response rather than speak his mind, fixing his gaze forward as the speeder coasted towards the Lars home. Owen was a stubborn man, possibly one of the most stubborn people he knew—which was saying something. He learned a long time ago arguments with Owen would either end in a loss or a stalemate, not a win.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence, as usual, both of them with gazes fixed forward in the direction of the house, their respective toolboxes resting between them. When they reached the dome entrance, Owen flew past it and instead pulled the Lars family speeder into the garage. They both stayed in the speeder as the lift lowered from the surface into the underground level, gathering their stuff. He undid his face wrap, lifted his goggles, and took off his hat, bundling the gear together and grabbing his toolkit as the lift came to a slightly jerky stop.

It looked like the old lift needed some grease to run a little more smoothly.

He hopped out of the speeder once the lift stopped moving, walking over to the designated spot in the room to shake the sand out of clothes and hair the best he could. Once he was sure he'd shaken off all the sand he could, he put up his toolkit and gear, making his way towards the exit.

"You might want to take a quick shower before dinner, just to be sure," Owen called after him.

"There's no point, I'll just be headed back out anyway," he answered, already disappearing into the main hall of the Lars home.

It was either his answer to Owen or the noise he made as he entered the home, but something alerted Beru to his presence, causing him to shift course, as her voice rang through the house.

"Luke? Luke?"

"Coming," he called back, quickly making his way down the stairs and crossing the courtyard to approach the kitchen. He could see his Aunt Beru within, four glasses of blue milk on a tray that she was brining over to the kitchen table. As the other occupant in the room rose to their feet, Luke's gaze darted to the chrono on the wall to confirm that yes, he was indeed a little late.

"Are you ready to head out?"

Luke approached his Aunt Beru, taking one of the glasses of blue milk from her with a murmured thank you and a brief kiss on the cheek before turning his full attention to the younger of the two woman in the room. "You have a night shift tonight?"

"Not all night. And I do have a shipment coming in, if you want to help out and earn a little extra…" she added leadingly.

Luke hid a smile behind a drink. Of course he wanted to help—extra credits meant he could get some upgrades, and she knew it. "I can help, sure," Luke answered.

She gave him a smile in return to his answer, gratefully accepting a glass from Beru. "Guess that means after dinner we're headed to the cantina before home. Now go get washed up before dinner, like your uncle told you."

Luke didn't bother to hide his smile this time at her teasing tone, already moving to do as he was told. "Yes, Mother."


	2. Chapter 1: Heat Wave

The heat that radiated off the lava covering the world of Mustafar was already enough to make the temperatures unbearably hot. Yet it shouldn't have made the air so sweltering as to heat up the metal of the shielded facility to the point it burned skin—lightly, thankfully. Nothing scarring had occurred, not yet, anyway. Something was wrong if the temperature had spiked to the degree of burning, as even the air caused skin to dry and lips to crack.

The heat was the first sensation that returned to her. This unbearable heat that seared her skin and made her eyes sting as what little sweat she had beaded over her eyelids and managed to slip beneath loosely-closed lids.

The next was the pain. There were the small things: cuts from glass, bruises from impacts, the burn of the heat that was getting steadily worse, a pounding headache that made it difficult to focus. Then there were the larger things: the burns and cuts from a lightsaber, the small layer that had been sheered from her shoulder, and her entire body seemed to throb and hum with pain.

She twitched, ears picking up the sound of blaring alarms, a sound that grew steadily in strength as she returned to consciousness. She wanted to move, to figure out what that sound was and to escape the heat boiling her skin, but she was in so much pain…

She managed to open her eyes first. She squeezed them shut again a few times as the little sweat she'd generated burned her eyes before the blurry red, orange, and grey world around her slowly came into focus—for the most part. Her vision still swam enough to make her feel unbalanced, and it seemed like the floor was tilted.

No…no, it really was tilted! As she managed to lift her head marginally from the ground, it was to discover that there was lava slowly devouring the room that had once been part of a shielded facility. As she came to the jarring realization that the room she was in—she couldn't say it was the whole building because she'd only just regained consciousness—was sliding into the lava of Mustafar, she registered a metallic rolling sound that seemed vaguely familiar. One arm swung jerkily out on instinct, and something cylindrical stopped rolling across the floor as it came into contact with her hand.

_Move._

She tried to push onto her arms, but her limbs didn't want to cooperate, even as she saw the lava creeping closer. Anything she started to put weight on trembled and buckled, everything tilted and swam as her mind sluggishly tried to make sense of what was going on.

_Move!_

Her fingers curled around the cylindrical object she'd stopped from rolling across the floor as she tried again to push herself up, much slower this time. She wavered unsteadily even though she was hardly lifting herself off the floor, her stomach lurching violently and causing a raspy retch as her stomach tried to expel contents that weren't there. Again, she found herself on the burning floor, unable to gather enough sense of herself and her surroundings to even raise herself marginally off the floor.

She dimly realized that she was lying on another cylindrical object that was pressing uncomfortably into her abdomen, but her mind was more focused on the connection she'd just made.

Growing up on Tatooine, one of the first planetary survival lessons that had been engrained into her were heat related illnesses. As a result, she recognized heatstroke even in her disoriented state.

_I can't get up…I don't have the strength, the ability, I can't…_

Yet she could feel the burning of the lava getting close. The facility was sinking, and she had to get up and move.

Still, she couldn't even get her arms to cooperate. It was hopeless. She couldn't get herself to move to safety, no matter how hard she tried.

_Please! You have to stand…I ask nothing more of you beyond that other than that you live._

Zelina closed her eyes as the words Luke had said to her another day she'd been unable to find the strength to stand reverberated in her mind. She remembered the desperation in his voice, the raw plea that she live, that she survive, how he'd begged her to stand…

Gathering all the strength she had in her drained body, Zelina reached out to her constant companion, the Force, and pulled on it for strength, sliding her hands against the burning metal floor and under her body before she pushed up, watching her arms shake.

The limbs almost collapsed again when she saw the lightsaber in her hand, the one that had stopped the rolling object.

It was Anakin's. Anakin's lightsaber had been rolling forgotten along the floor of the sinking facility.

Panic gripped her as the worst possibly _whys_ flashed through her mind, giving her a sudden burst of energy to at least push herself back a little further from the lava that was consuming the room and to push herself up a little more. Another lightsaber rolled out from under her, this time her own—the one she had constructed as a Padawan. She grabbed it, too, before it could fall into the lava, letting Luke's words from another time loop through her mind as her push to keep moving.

_You have to stand…you have to stand…live…_

After a few blind movements to hook the two lightsabers to her belt, she pulled herself across the floor at first, struggling to get her knees underneath herself as she worked her way in the opposite direction of the lava. Her vision was shifting in and out of focus, a further testament to just how injured she was and how serious her case of heatstroke seemed to be. She worked with what she had, though, letting Luke's words and her own mantra of _get up, move_ cycle through her head as her motivation. She could see her target, a doorway that seemed to have broken away from another section of the facility and now led to the rocky shores of the river of lava her room was sinking into. She only had a small window of time before it too would be submerged, and in her current state of being, she would be doomed.

Now she was on her hands and knees, crawling towards the doorway as the floor continued to tip, making it harder and harder to find enough purchase on the floor to avoid sliding backwards. Her breaths came in short bursts from the raw strain and exertion the simple action was causing her damaged body…

Her hand found the edge of the section that had broken away from the crumbling facility, telling her she'd reached the doorway. Slowly, painfully, Zelina pulled herself up, trying to make it out of the room. The floor seemed to shudder before the entire room lurched, tipping back further as it sank deeper into the lava that was eating the metal room just behind her.

_Get out! Now!_

With a rasping cry, Zelina forced her strained muscles to heave her body halfway out of the doorway, midriff balancing on the jagged metal edge as she focused on the shore that was about to slip out of reach. Before she could doubt or miss her chance, she simply pitched herself forward, landing hard enough on her back that the breath rushed out of her when she collided with the rocky shore. She could hear groaning metal behind her as the room continued to sink, a sound that mostly covered her choking gasps for air as she lay prone on the ground, trying to regather her bearings.

There, she was out of immediate danger. Perhaps now…now she could…

No…no, she was suffering from heatstroke, she could die if she didn't cool down and receive medical attention now. She was still too close to the lava river. Up above her she could see the jagged rooms of the once whole facility that now seemed to be slowly breaking apart and falling into the river below, no shields activated to protect the metal structure from the spewing lava.

She didn't want to go there, then.

… _the sound of an explosion, two presences snuffed dim, "NO!"_

Zelina's head jerked up at the shock of the memory, a gurgled grunt bursting past her lips at the sudden movement.

_Obi-Wan…Padmé…_

The landing platform was _exactly_ where she needed to go. Their presences had only been snuffed dim, not completely out. There was a chance, a _chance_ that they might still be alive.

But that also meant she had to climb and get back to the landing platform before the rest of the facility crumbled into the lava.

It was a little easier for her to roll onto her side and flop to the ground on her stomach than it had been to crawl out of the sinking room. Every moment she spent pushing her body—to take one more step, drag her just a little farther, cover a bit more distance—was more pain that she had to suffer through. Now, though…now she needed to stand—to walk and to climb.

Hands sinking into the black shores around her, Zelina focused her entire being on making her way up the slope, burning eyes focused on the facility above her as she made painfully slow progress upwards. Her limbs shook, her body swayed from side to side, and once or twice she slid backwards down the slope when she failed to find purchase on the crumbling ground beneath her.

_Forward._

When the black grained surface beneath her palms switched to smooth metal, Zelina sighed in relief, reaching out for the nearest wall at her side to start to pull herself up. It took far longer than she wanted to admit to pull herself into an upright position, but she did, though she continued down the hall hunched over and leaning against the wall for support.

_Am I even going the right way?_

The thought was hard to avoid, especially as the world seemed to swirl around her on uneven ground, her disorientation making it hard to tell the right direction. A part of her prompted her to keep walking, though, and she knew to listen to that part more than to trust her own senses.

She almost tripped on a few bodies along the way, and the fuzzy memory of her realization Anakin had carried out a slaughter here floated to the front of her mind.

_Anakin…_

_No, no, don't even think that. He's alive, he has to be._

…but if he was alive, would he have left her to perish from the lava? Wouldn't he have come to rescue her, as she had rescued him before, as he had done for her in the past?

 _Don't_ , she thought with a deceitful firmness, her free hand resting on Anakin's lightsaber clipped to her belt. _Don't go there._

A blast of warm—probably hot, but only warm to her skin after being so close to the lava—air blasted against Zelina's face, whipping her disheveled hair from her face and turning her attention to the entrance in front of her. She hadn't even realized she'd already reached the landing platform.

_Doeep!_

The familiar tootle turned Zelina's attention to her side, where the familiar sights of Threepio and R2D2 brought a small dose of comfort to the current situation. They hadn't been on the ship, then…

"Mistress Zelina! My goodness, you're alive!" Threepio started to exclaim before Artoo bumped him a little aggressively, like he was trying to get the other droid to quiet.

Was there danger nearby?

After a few rapid blinks, Zelina attempted to reorient herself, looking away from the two droids standing on the other side of the hallway to instead peer out at the landing platform.

The explosion from earlier had left its mark on the platform, scorch marks and shrapnel from the Nabooian vessel littering the ground as testament to what had happened. One look at the vessel now damaged beyond repair told Zelina the bomb had been on the ship itself, likely planted while the rest of their group had tried to make their way towards it or talked. And just a short distance away from what had once been the landing ramp…

Zelina choked back a cry of distress, though she wasn't entirely sure why she was trying to be quiet. Padmé and Obi-Wan both lay unmoving on the ground. She was close enough to see their clothes were scorched, but she couldn't see the extent of their injuries, or if they were even still breathing.

Threepio was trying to talk to her again, but there was a ringing in her ears, and she wasn't really paying any attention to the droids at the moment—they seemed fine, so all of her concern was on her two injured and possibly dead or dying friends a few meters away. She lurched forward with a disregard for caution that would have her alert, general self yelling at her in frustration.

Almost instantly, a blaster bolt whizzed past her head, close enough to her left eye the brightness temporarily blinded her, though she'd already jerked back into the cover of the hallway on instinct. A brief volley of blaster bolts slammed into the doorframe and a little ways into the hall, forcing her deeper back into the facility.

There must have been soldiers left on the platform. Probably meant to remain long enough to make sure there weren't any survivors.

Zelina's hand dropped to her lightsaber as a fresh wave of hatred for Palpatine swept through her, fueling her actions long enough to unclip and raise her lightsaber to a loose ready position, blade not yet activated as she tried to assess her current situation.

She doubted she was in a healthy enough state to take on a well-organized and possibly fresh batch of soldiers. Right now she was easy pickings, mere target practice for a trained soldier.

She needed help.

Praying she hadn't lost it in the fight, Zelina searched her utility belt for the comm unit that would put her in touch with the 105th that was—hopefully—still waiting for a signal to swoop in if things got hairy.

Sticking with the analogy, she figured thing's had escalated to a Wookiee-sized situation.

She didn't know if her voice even worked, and she didn't think she even had time to explain the situation, so she simply pressed the alert button so Cruiser could ping her location. Blaster bolts struck deeper into the hall, telling her the soldiers outside had changed positions and were moving to get a clear shot of her, which prompted her to pull deeper into the facility.

No point in trying to hide, now. They would be on her in minutes.

She activated her lightsaber, the violet blade casting the hallway in a harsh glow, illuminating the blaster scorch marks and some blackened, crumbled shards of metal that had flown into the hallway when the blast went off. She could hear shouts outside, no doubt the soldiers warning one another that it seemed a Jedi was inside and to prepare themselves.

The facility shuddered beneath Zelina's feet, a violent groan piercing through even her disoriented state as the section of the facility she was in—landing platform included—cracked and began to lean right, towards the lava river below. Zelina's gaze immediately snapped towards the two prone figures who were lying unprotected on the landing platform. If the facility tilted too much, they would slide over the edge and into the lava below—then they would definitely be dead, if they weren't already.

Switching which hand was holding her lightsaber, Zelina took a shaking breath and braced herself against the wall, counting in her head before she threw herself forward, gaze locked on a supply crate that was relatively close to the entrance and large enough to use for cover. Blaster fire ripped through the air as soon as she emerged, most coming dangerously close, one striking her leg and causing her to crumple, but thankfully she'd already reached the crate by then.

She collapsed against the metal ground with a cry, the impact rippling through her battered and frankly destroyed system, and she struggled to control her breathing.

She wasn't going to make it to Padmé and Obi-Wan. She was too injured, and there were too many soldiers. She couldn't fight them off.

_I think I'd rather have died while I was still unconscious than like this._

There was shouting again, much closer this time, but between her damaged eardrums, her disorientation, and the cacophony that was multiple voices yelling all at once, she couldn't make out what they were saying. She just knew that it was the familiar sound of soldiers shouting in the heat of battle.

Furious blasterfire ripped through the air, but none of it came her way or sailed over the crate—not on purpose, anyway. Zelina remained hunkered down, refusing to rise and make herself an easier target. If she had any luck left, the 105th would arrive before she became target practice, though considering how everything else had gone down, she doubted she was that lucky.

Silence suddenly settled over the platform, ominous and heavy, before it was pierced by the distinct sound of footsteps hurrying towards her. Latching onto adrenaline for her source of energy, she flipped around so she was lying on her back, lightsaber ignited and held in front of her defensively as two soldiers in white and blue armor appeared around the corner, ripping off their helmets as they came in view.

"General!" one of them exclaimed while the other carelessly tossed the helmet to the ground, both of them holding up their hands to show they weren't a threat.

In her current state, it took Zelina a moment to recognize them, but when she did, she felt tears of relief prick her eyes and threaten to spill over. "Echo…Jesse…" she croaked. The sound of her voice was terrifying—she hardly recognized herself.

As she deactivated her lightsaber, the two 501st members dropped down beside her to start examining injuries, their words reaching her in a disorganized mess. It didn't take a genius to guess they were asking about her injuries and what had happened, or explaining themselves.

"Heatstroke…lightsaber fight…elec…electrocuted," Zelina mumbled in way of explanation, hoping they would realize she wasn't all there and couldn't entirely answer them at the moment. "105th enroute…"

Zelina was already trying to push herself up, to force herself to crawl towards Padmé and Obi-Wan, but Jesse and Echo stopped her.

"Ma'am, you shouldn't move, you're in really bad shape—" Echo started to say, but Zelina batted their hands aside, continuing her push to reach Padmé and Obi-Wan. Seeing her stubbornness come out, Echo and Jesse reluctantly helped Zelina up enough to bring her over to Padmé and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan was closest, so Zelina checked him first, vision swimming as she turned him just enough to see that the worst of the damage he'd taken had come from behind, indicating the blast had come from behind him. There were shrapnel wounds, and a cut on his forehead that left a large trail of blood down the side of his face…

…but a quick check for his pulse told her that yes, he was still alive.

_One miracle. Let's hope that two isn't asking too much._

Padmé was in far worse shape. It seemed she was the one who had been caught in the blast, and Zelina immediately feared not only for Padmé's life, but for the life of her child. Padmé's shrapnel wounds were far more numerous than Obi-Wan's, and she'd suffered several severe burns. If she'd been as close to the blast as these injuries suggested, then the blast itself could have…could have done some internal damages.

Zelina's hand dropped to Padmé's abdomen as she sent out a brief prayer that the child within would live before she checked for Padmé's pulse.

Faint…but there. They might all survive, yet.

"Help me with them," she rasped to her two companions, uncaring of how weak and vulnerable she must have seemed to them. Her energy was seeping out of her again now that she'd reached the platform and Obi-Wan and Padmé were both confirmed to still be alive.

"General—"

"This place…is falling apart. Get them off this platform, now," Zelina rasped. She saw Echo move to pick up Padmé, and she turned to see Jesse hefting Obi-Wan up as she pushed herself up onto her elbows, breathing labored from the effort. The two 501st members carried Obi-Wan and Padmé away from the landing platform and closer to safety while Zelina tried to reorient herself once more. This time, it wasn't happening. She could feel reality fading around her again, and she struggled to hold herself to the realm of the living.

After a few moments of labored breathing, feeling the landing pad continue to tremble and tilt beneath her and the facility groan, Zelina felt strong hands grasp her under her arms, hefting her up and draping her arms over their shoulders to drag her forwards. She hardly even registered what was happening around her anymore, barely managing to assist Jesse and Echo's attempts to move her by not being completely dead weight, thoughts quickly falling into shadow.

Padmé was barely alive, and if she couldn't hold on until they could get help…

_I'm scared…it's so cold…don't let it take me, please! Don't let me die! Father, please!_

Anakin's lightsaber rolling forgotten and abandoned across the metal floor towards the lava below, the screams and shouts and lightning and sounds of lightsabers clashing against one another…Anakin would have never willingly left his pregnant wife abandoned and dying on this Force-forsaken planet. He wouldn't have left them all to die, wouldn't have left unarmed, but that meant he had to have…the fight had to have ended with…

As Jesse and Echo finally came to a stop, Zelina sank to the ground beside Padmé, laying over her friend and trying to hold back the waves of grief threatening to slam into her during what may have been her weakest point. She could feel a few sparse tears streaking down her face, burning as they mixed with the soot from the explosion all over Padmé's clothes.

The overwhelming sound of a Republic Gunship reached her ears, and Zelina looked up as a spotlight washed over the five of them, casting her distress in a bright light for all to see.

"Wait for us!" came the distant voice of Threepio behind them, but Zelina didn't bother to turn—she knew the droids would reach them in time. She was focused on the 105th she could see sliding down cables with medical gurneys being handed down once it was clear three of them were injured. Her men were surrounding her in an instant, Obi-Wan, Zelina, and Padmé all being lifted into gurneys that were sent up into the gunship.

It was too much stress. Even as she registered that the arrival of her men also meant she was officially safe, all the what ifs and unanswered questions, the glaring possibility of Anakin's fate, the fact Padmé might not survive and Luke could die, everything that had happened in such a short span of time…it came crashing down on Zelina all at once, and she closed her eyes, feeling the universe rapidly disappearing around her.

"Padmé…" she murmured. "Help…Padmé…pregnant…"

"General…should we…anywhere…can go?" she heard Cruiser's voice calling from the end of the distant tunnel.

"Kryze," Zelina breathed. "Contact Satine Kryze…or…Senator Org…Organa…"

It was all she had left to give before she slipped away once more.


	3. Remnants of a Now Dead World

Darkness was becoming a constant companion in her life. An entity that was always there, surrounding or looming over her. Now was no different. In fact, now it was stronger than ever. Darkness seeped into the universe, blanketing every living thing like a plague now that the Jedi had fallen and the Sith had seized control.

Even now Zelina found herself surrounded by darkness, unable to see any path or obstacles. There was just her…and darkness. Not even sound seemed to pierce its veil, aside from her own shallow breaths. And of course, where there was darkness, there was the cold…

Zelina's arms wrapped around herself as she looked futilely around, unsure where she was supposed to go. Was this dream…or vision? Did she even have a destination, or would whatever she was here for come to her?

Something pulled sharply on a part of her soul that had been integral to what shaped her into who she was today, a part of her that had been there for as long as she could remember—longer, even. And this pull was not a tug in the right direction—it was as if someone was trying to carve this piece of her soul away with a blunt instrument, brutally hacking at the root of her being.

With the pull came a vague purpose, as she stumbled in the direction it came as if to hold onto what some unseen force seemed determined to take. Her breath caught in her throat, hands clutching at her heart as if to preserve this integral part of her.

The sensation came again, stronger this time, sending her stumbling forward and onto her knees from the sudden pain that ripped through her entire being to the core of her soul. She cried out, tears springing free from lids squeezed shut, down her face as her fingers clutched tighter, digging into fabric and her chest.

"Zelina?"

She knew that voice. Force, that voice, it was a balm to her soul even now, after all that had happened. It stirred within her peace, love, comfort, happiness—it was the person who taught her those things and embodied them even in a cruel and war-torn universe. That voice resonated to the core of who she was, it brought a sense of stability, and for a moment, soothed the agony of soul and body to a whisper in the back of her mind.

Zelina opened her eyes once more, finding light had blossomed between her and the voice, enough for them to see and find one another despite the darkness.

"Anakin?" she murmured before another jagged edge raked at her soul once again. She whimpered at the feeling, palm slapping against the coarse surface below her as she pitched forward from the force of the violent attempt to tear a part of her out by the roots.

From the sound that came out of Anakin, her pain was only a shadow of his own.

She could barely see him just out of her reach, curled up on his side with convulsions of what had to be pain violently shuddering through his entire being. His arms were curled inwards, clutching at nothing for support, hands releasing and gripping against empty air with every wave. His head was ducked in at the fresh bought of pain, hiding his face from view, but his cry of agony cut her deeper than any weapon the galaxy could manufacture. If he did look at her, what she saw would no doubt be a fatal blow.

But she could not sit by when his pain ran so deep.

"Anakin," Zelina repeated, dragging herself forward as Anakin convulsed again, the knife in her own soul slicing deeper in sync with his agony.

She felt his hand first, fingers slipping across his palm and tightening around his hand in a grip that turned fingertips white, a force returned by Anakin's own crushing grip. A relieved sob seemed to bubble past Anakin's lips at the contact, at a comfort Zelina could feel his soul craving for as lungs craved oxygen and a heart, blood.

"I'm here, Ani…I'm right here…" Zelina whispered as Anakin clung desperately to her. She used the connection to pull herself towards him, an action that grew harder with every moment, as if gravity was pulling them in opposite directions, like they were fighting the operations of the galaxy for this craved contact with one another.

A violent pain ripped through Anakin and he screamed, twisting as Zelina pulled him towards her, managing to use his violent momentum to pull him partially into her lap. Her other arm wrapped around his chest to hold him down and to hold him close to her heart, the other hand remaining in a vice grip with his own. Anakin's other hand clutched at the arm wrapped around his chest as the shudder tore through him, and Zelina had to hold back a cry of her own as she felt something inside her ripping.

With his back pressed against her chest, Zelina could feel Anakin's labored breaths as he collapsed into himself. His head tilted back so he could look up at her, and Zelina felt her heart sever itself from her chest and beg to be used to fix his own, an irreversible damage reflected in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, the words echoing in their dark solitude.

"Don't…don't, it doesn't matter now," Zelina found herself saying, tears pricking at her eyes. She squeezed his hand tighter as the words rang hollow in her throat. It did matter. Everything that had happened, what he'd done, had shaken the galaxy to its core, and left Zelina floating without purpose in a suddenly darkness drenched galaxy.

But she didn't want it to matter. She wanted to be able to escape it all, to disappear somewhere with Anakin and Padme, find a new purpose away from the Jedi and the war and all this death…

"Yes…yes, it does," Anakin countered firmly. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

"I don't want to talk about it, Anakin, I…I don't even want to think about it, I just want…I want…"

She didn't have words for what she wanted. She knew there was something resonating in her being, something she craved with every fiber of her existence, something that included Anakin…but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Anakin twisted under her grip as another scream ripped out of him, tears of pain slipping down his cheeks and disappearing into the darkness. Zelina tightened her hold on him, returning the bone-crushing pressure he clutched at her with as she felt tendrils snap inside her soul.

She knew what was happening. She knew it, but she didn't want to say it. Saying it would make it real, and this _couldn't be real_. She wouldn't _let it be real_.

"We should have never left Varykino," Zelina whispered, turning her face into his hair as Anakin's rattled breaths momentarily filled the space between them, body shaking with what seemed to be continuous pain that never released him. "We should have just stayed on Naboo and never got involved in any of this, we should have just…just left it all behind while we had the chance-"

"You were both so beautiful…" Anakin murmured, interrupting Zelina's ramblings. "Padme always wore something stunning but you…I'd never seen you in…in anything other than rags or Jedi clothes and you just…shimmered, that night."

A startled, broken laugh slipped past her control. "It was just one silly night…one simple dress…"

"I never forgot it," Anakin admitted. "Never forgot that I almost—"

Something closer to a scream ripped through him as he pitched forward, held down by Zelina's arm. A strangled sob punched out of her lungs at his pain, followed by the sharp breath as her soul continued to fracture within.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay," she whispered, raising their clasped hands so she could wipe the pained tears from his face. "You…you're going to be…"

"Zelina, I need…I need to hear you say you…you forgive me," Anakin murmured once the intense wave had subsided some and Zelina's words had rambled into nothing.

"There's nothing to forgive."

Anakin convulsed with another intense wave of agony, but he forced the words out, nonetheless. "No, no, there's _everything_ to forgive, I've done so much wrong, I've hurt you, I've—"

"I forgive you," Zelina interrupted. Anakin shook his head in disbelief, another cry interrupting whatever he needed to say. She turned to make sure she could lock eyes with him—even if doing so only broke her heart a little more. "Hey…I forgive you. For all of it, okay?"

Anakin nodded stiffly before he curled against her embrace again, a longer, agonized sound breaking out of him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I…I'm so sorry…"

Zelina's breath hitched as she tried to pull Anakin closer. It was getting harder to hold him, like he was slipping out of her grasp. "Stop that, okay? Stop…stop talking like this, you're going to be okay. We're…we're both going to be okay, we're all going to be okay. And we'll go somewhere nice, and green, with water and birds and quiet, there'll be no one else around, and…and Luke can grow up in a field w-with his family…we'll all stay together, a-and we'll be somewhere w-where there's no—no war or, or pain, and…and this will all be a dis—a distant m-memory."

She wasn't convincing. She kept choking on sobs as Anakin writhed in her grasp from a pain she could not protect him from, brought on by a force she could not fight. Both of them knew that the picture she painted was one they could never have. The truth of it resonated in their crumbling souls.

"Maybe…maybe _you_ can, but I…I can't go with you this time."

The pull on that integral part of her soul returned, so forceful that she pitched forward despite Anakin in her grip, and she felt him slide forward as she lost some of her grip on him.

She knew what part of her soul was being carved away with no means for her to stop it, she knew what part of her was being ripped out by the roots. This section of her soul as much of a necessity to her as oxygen and blood, that had been a part of her since before she could remember, had shaped her into who she was…

Anakin was dying.

She was losing him.

The part of her he'd always resided in…she was losing it.

As he died, she lost a part of her very core, and it _hurt_.

Zelina curled around Anakin as if it could help her hold him a few moments longer, tears flowing unrestrained as she finally faced the reality of what was happening. She didn't know who was clutching tighter to the other—the dying man or the woman who couldn't let go of him.

"Anakin, don't leave me, please…" she whimpered. He didn't answer her, and it was because he knew there was nothing either of them could do. He couldn't make that promise. He couldn't stay…but she wanted…she _needed_ him to stay. "I can't do this without you, not without you, please…"

"Stay with me…please," Anakin suddenly whispered. "Until…Until…"

Zelina rested her forehead against his head, desperately clutching to his hand as her core being cried out for her to hold him there by her own sheer willpower. "I won't ever leave you, Anakin. _Never_. To the very end…no matter what."

She'd barely spoken their promise when that part of her being ripped violently as they both screamed, Anakin from a force she couldn't protect him from and a fear she could not fight off, Zelina from the sensation of having Anakin ripped away from her. A primal part of her being clung desperately to the part of him that was still miraculously attached to her by fragile threads, while she physically clung to him even as she felt him slipping free. Panic welled in her throat and her fingernails probably broke skin as she clutched tighter to his hand.

She couldn't _lose_ him! Not him, not Anakin, _never_ Anakin! He was the one thing she _could not_ lose!

"Anakin, I'm scared, please, I need you—" Zelina sobbed. He was clinging to her just as desperately, but they were still being pulled apart, little by little she could feel him sliding out from her grip, even as his body shook with agony.

The pull became that much more insistent, and Anakin's fingers bruised skin as he tried to hold on just a few more moments, just a little longer, even as the pain became too much to bear, a crescendo that caused him to seize and tears to spill hot and unforgiving down his cheeks.

"Zee, promise…promise me…"

The finality of this plea, a final promise he asked of her, caused a hysteria to overtake her in her desperation. "No! No, Anakin, please…please, don't do this to me, don't…"

Anakin's grip on her arm pulled painfully, demanding her attention. She needed him…but he needed _this_. "Take care of them. _Promise me_. Promise me you'll take care of them…take care of my family."

Zelina sucked in a breath, her tears blurring her vision enough she couldn't even make out his features anymore, hand wavering in the vice grip they shared. "I promise. Like my own."

She tried furiously to blink away the tears as a content sigh managed to slip past Anakin's lips—happiness, a sliver of peace in the wake of all of this, even if it was for a flickering moment that was lost just as quickly to the darkness.

"Anakin…" she whispered, the sound a broken plea filled with the unsaid, the missed opportunities, the need, the dreams for a future neither of them knew they needed or wanted, of love and pain and raw loss and need.

"Y'know…all this time…a part of me knew that…that I did too," Anakin suddenly murmured, the last part barely audible, barely escaping his being to resonate between them. The statement came from nowhere, throwing Zelina so far off balance that her tears momentarily halted out of confusion.

"What?"

For a split second, she could see him clearly, see his gaze lock on hers, and for the briefest moment, a smile graced his features, warm and caring, full of light as he'd once been, and…and…

Neither of them were prepared when the next pull came. Or perhaps…perhaps he had been prepared, and he'd only wanted Zelina to have this brief moment of peace before it all shattered. Anakin turned away as a particularly violent spasm ripped through him, a full scream bursting out of him as he thrashed, the motion breaking the momentarily lax grip Zelina had on his chest from the shock. She was yanked forward as something pulled Anakin from her with all the force of the universe, yet they desperately clung to each other's hands, the only part that still connected them besides the thin tendril fraying in Zelina's soul.

The light was gone, she couldn't see him, but she could hear his screams, could feel the yawning void where he'd once held a special residency in her soul, and she could feel his hand clinging desperately to hers.

"No! No, Anakin, hold on—"

He was slipping, she could feel it, feel his palm sliding under her own—

"Hold on…just a little longer, please—"

Fingers. She could only feel his fingers, trying to curl around hers, fingernails digging just under each other's fingertips desperately.

"Anakin, no, just hold on, hold…"

The thread snapped, his fingers slipped…and he was gone.

" _Please!_ "

* * *

She threw herself forward in a sudden frenzy, doubled over as a scream ripped from the center of her being out into the universe. Shouts rang out all around her, the very room shook, lights flared, glass shattered, sparks rained down. As electricity surged and metal caved in on itself, her scream continued, resonating through the pristine space. It carried with it the weight of loss, a loss so raw and soaked in agony that it could crush anything in its path. Her soul was broken, a gaping hole that was little less than half of who she'd been glared out from what had once been a whole presence of light. A foundation had been ripped free, a segment of who she was erased, struck from the galaxy.

Her scream reached out into the galaxy, propelling her deep into herself at the same time in search of what was missing, desperately seeking it so she could _make_ the universe return it to her, so she could forcibly repair this inconsistency, this wrongness, this emptiness that spread out of the hole and doused the rest of her soul.

But she found nothing. There was nothing, no trail to follow, because there was nothing on the other end. It was gone. For the first time in her life, in all her twenty years, there was _nothing there_. She was _alone_. He was _gone_ , and she was _empty_.

There was a ringing in her ears as her scream carried. If she ran out of breath she only started anew. Tears streamed down her face as her wordless cry drowned out the sound of shouting and footsteps, of electric surges that caused lights to burn to bright before popping out, extinguished as quickly as he had.

Hands tried to restrain her, to force her back, but she would not be moved. She couldn't hear the voices around her, couldn't feel anything other than the empty that was swallowing her whole, suffocating her even as she screamed, cutting into what remained and bleeding her of what little she had left—but she had nothing left to give. She'd lost everything. As long as she had him, she could have survived, but she'd lost him too, and he…he was the most important thing. He was what she needed. She might have survived if he had, but he…he…

The invasive hands disappeared. The shouting ceased, but she still screamed. Metal still twisted and collapsed, lights exploded, sparks rained, glass shattered.

Something reached out to her. Something reached for her suffering and took it upon itself. Something sought to fill the gap with light, but…but it had its own space it had already filled. It could not fill the hole, as much as it wanted to. It could only burn brighter in its designated spot, could try to radiate peace and comfort, could try to sooth from its own place in her core.

A gentle hand…a fatherly hand. One that had bandaged a whipped child newly free, kind grey-blue eyes that listened and advised, firm but lenient, understanding, someone who had cared for him, too. Someone who now grieved as the loss that caused her scream registered with them, as well.

A father figure. Peace and kindness, guidance and tranquility. Warrior and peacekeeper, negotiator and general. Father, yet brother.

Obi-Wan.

Her scream was choked off by a sob, quickly followed by a wail, carrying her loss out of the room and seeping her grief into the entire facility. She was collapsing in on herself when the gentle hand returned, resting on her shoulder as a warm body appeared next to her. An arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, another gentle hand guiding her head towards his chest as he pulled her tightly towards him in a vain attempt to comfort her.

There was nothing he could do.

Anakin was gone.

She was trapped in a nightmare she could not escape, and _Anakin was gone_!

Still, she turned into the comfort he tried to offer as a balm, though it did little for her. She turned into him, clutched at his scorched tunic and continued to wail, broken screams and sobs causing her body to shudder in his embrace.

A sharp prick invaded her neck, but she didn't care. She had nothing left to care with, nothing left to give.

So when an artificial darkness came to claim her, she didn't fight it. She surrendered.

There was nothing to fight with, and nothing to fight for, anymore.

* * *

When she came to again, it was just as sudden as before, but not nearly as violent. The emptiness still resonated inside her, but now…now it swallowed her whole, made her numb to the world around her…

…what was the world around her? Where was she?

All around her was sterile white, with brightly burning, fresh lights, brand new furniture, and the trappings of a medical center. What should have been comfortable sheets trapped her in place, made her feel constricted. She was already trapped and drowning in her own body, she didn't need to feel confined to a bed, either.

Feeling detached from her movements as if they were simply a dream, Zelina found herself getting out of bed, bare feet touching a cold floor without really feeling the temperature. A hand stretched out in front of her to open the door she suddenly found herself in front of, and with no real direction, Zelina simply started walking down the hall.

No direction…she didn't have a direction. She had no purpose, no reason, she just…just existed in this moment. What else was she supposed to do, besides exist?

A droid passed her in the hall and seemed to recognize her, trying to convince her to go back to the room she'd started in. She ignored him, walking forward as if she hadn't even heard him. She hadn't heard him, though, not really.

She didn't know how long she walked without a purpose before she saw someone familiar. Or rather…someones.

Just a little ways down a hall were Satine, Bail Organa, and Master Yoda. The three of them were grouped together, watching in various degrees of distress and worry what was happening inside a room that had had glass walls facing the hall.

A part of her whispered that she didn't want to see what was on the other side of the glass, but a stronger part took control and kept her walking towards them.

When she came close enough to peer inside the room, Zelina finally saw what had them so concerned, and a spark of purpose tried to crackle to life inside her.

Padme was the center of attention, with the three out in the hall staring directly at her, two or three medical droids within hovering around her, and a still wounded but much healthier looking Obi-Wan Kenobi at her side. There were monitors keeping track of her heartbeat, blood pressure, all of the essentials, and it looked like there were also monitors for the…for the baby.

Zelina moved around the other three, finally garnering their attention as she approached the door to Padme with relative speed. She could feel Master Yoda's mysterious gaze on her, but he didn't say anything. Satine and Bail were the ones who protested.

"You shouldn't go in there—" Bail was saying.

"Zelina, you should be in bed, recovering—" Satine tried, reaching out to stop Zelina. Zelina was too quick for them, however, and she was stepping inside before either of them could make a physical attempt to stop her from entering.

As the door opened and shut behind her, Obi-Wan tore his gaze from Padme long enough to see who was intruding, surprise flashing across his face to see Zelina entering the room. "Zelina, what are you doing in here?" he asked, but just as she had with everyone else, she ignored him, instead making her way to Padme's side.

"Padme," she said softly, coming to stand at the woman's other side, across from Obi-Wan. She took Padme's soft hand in her own, feeling fear seep into her bones as she saw the state the woman was in. Pale and shaking, sweat beading across her forehead, breathing shallow, an uncharacteristic aura of weakness hovering over the woman. The injuries she'd sustained seemed like they'd been stitched together in a hasty, temporary fix, like there hadn't been time to do what they needed to save her life, or like there…like there hadn't been any point in trying.

Padme gave Zelina a bittersweet smile, her hand squeezing Zelina's faintly. "They have to deliver the baby now, or they won't make it. It was either them, or me. I made my choice," the woman said faintly.

_No, no, no, no, no…_

"There's…there's still a way to fix this, isn't there?" Zelina asked shakily, glancing between a hopeless looking Obi-Wan and the frustratingly peaceful Padme. Neither of them seemed like they were going to give her the answer she wanted to hear, and looking out at the spectators on the other side of the glass, it seemed they were of the same opinion as Obi-Wan.

_There has to be something I can do, anything! Don't make me powerless to do anything again!_

Zelina's other hand reached out to gently smooth back Padme's hair as she reached out in the Force in a desperate attempt to feel for what was wrong and try to heal it. Her efforts, however, came out as clumsy and lethargic, as if she was touching the Force for the first time instead of with the usual natural reflex she reached with. And it took far more effort for her to concentrate than she should have needed…

"Zelina, you don't have the strength," Obi-Wan said softly from Padme's other side. "Besides…there's nothing anyone can do. We've already tried."

Again, Padme squeezed her hand to reassure her. "It's all right…this is my choice. If it means my baby will live…it's worth it."

"But you're…you'll…die," Zelina forced herself to say. Padme gave Zelina a bitter smile.

"Better me then my baby," she said softly.

Zelina felt her knees go weak, legs shaking as tears burned in her eyes. She would have answered the woman, argued that they had to at least try to do something to save Padme's life, but at that moment the woman let out a sharp cry of pain, the grip on Zelina's hand tightening substantially. Zelina glanced down at the medical droid who was down by Padme's covered legs, cooing soothing words in another language.

Padme let out another shout, skin reddening from the exertion, tears pricking in her eyes. Zelina held tightly to Padme's hand, refusing to let go even as Padme's fingernails cut and drew blood.

A different cry rent the air, immediately drawing Zelina's attention. Something stirred deep inside her at the sound, and she watched, captivated, as the medical droid revealed a healthy screaming baby boy to the universe, gently placed in a white blanket. To Zelina's numb surprise, the medical droid approached her, gently depositing the baby into Zelina's arms before she even realized what was happening.

"Luke…" Padme sighed beside Zelina, who was shaken from her stupor long enough to turn to Padme and show the baby boy to the exhausted woman. "Oh, Luke…" Padme whispered, a gentle finger running along his cheek before another contraction hit, and Zelina pulled the squirming baby away just before Padme let out another scream.

He was a wiggly one, the weight in her arms strange to her even now, knowing there was a baby, that it was Luke in her arms…but she was still numb to it all, the entire thing still felt like a dream, even as Padme, much to Zelina's surprise, continued to push, the medical droid riveted to something Zelina could not see…

Another scream pierced the air, causing Zelina to look down at Luke for a split second in the expectation that it was him crying. No, the baby was squinting up at her and squirming, but he wasn't screaming at the moment.

The droid moved over to Obi-Wan, depositing a second screaming baby into his arms. Zelina stared in shock at the unexpected—well, unexpected for her—arrival as Obi-Wan presented the screaming babe to Padme. "It's a girl."

"Leia!" Padme exclaimed, no longer possessing the energy to do much in greetings for her child. Her hand wandered towards her neck, and Zelina watched as she pulled the japor snippet necklace Padme had worn as much as Zelina wore her mother's necklace from around her neck, hand limply swinging towards Zelina.

Still keeping a hold of Luke, Zelina barely managed to catch Padme's hand with a quickly freed hand of her own before she could drop the necklace. "It's yours now," Padme whispered.

Instantly, Zelina's throat closed and she shook her head in denial. "Padme, no, I can't take this, he—"

"You need it…more than me," Padme insisted, using what little strength she had to push the necklace forcefully into Zelina's palm. Zelina didn't dare resist, tears already starting to slip down her cheeks.

Padme's eyes fluttered, breaths shallow and slight. "There's good in him," she whispered, and neither Zelina nor Obi-Wan had to ask who she meant by _him_. Nor did either of them have the heart to tell her in this moment what had happened to him. "I _know_. I know there is…still…good…"

Zelina hardly picked up on the last word, since it was delivered with Padme's last breath, the woman going still as the heart monitor registered her heart had stopped. Both babies instantly began to scream again the moment that Zelina felt Padme's light wink out, but she hardly heard them. Water seemed to be rushing in her ears as she stared at Padme's now lifeless form, the japor snippet Anakin had once made for Zelina biting into her palm as Zelina's hand clenched into a fist, as she backed away. She didn't stop until her back hit the floor, the jarring physical motion causing her knees to buckle as Zelina slid to the floor, vision blurring as the tears took over, a choked sound escaping her as the reality started to close in from all around.

She failed. She failed all of them, and now she'd lost everything. The temple had been destroyed, the Jedi wiped out, Anakin killed, Padme had died in childbirth despite all of Zelina's reassurances that she would be all right and Zelina would take care of his family, the Republic had fallen and Palpatine had taken power…

She had nothing left. Nothing. Just this empty hole that was devouring her from the inside, and darkness that was closing in from all sides. She'd lost the brightest light in her life, and as much as Obi-Wan had tried to sooth her, to try and fill that hole already, he couldn't. She had lost her own light, as well as the light Anakin had given her, and that was far more than Obi-Wan could provide.

What was even the point? What did she have to care about anymore? Where was she even supposed to go from here? Did she even go on? Or should she just…refuse to move from this spot. Give up and wait for death or some other fate to take her. She had no home to go to, no purpose, no light, no will, no faith, nothing to fight for, nothing at all. Just the shell of herself and the tattered remains of her soul. Death would be preferable to the empty existence that suddenly seemed to be stretched out before her.

_I don't care what happens to me anymore…I just want this to be over, I just want this nightmare to be over…_

Something smacked against her cheek, and Zelina blinked, temporarily startled out of her well of sorrow to look down at the screaming babe she'd forgotten was lying in her arms.

Luke.

_Luke._

He was an orphan now. Both his mother and his father had died, and he was all alone, besides his sister. He was just as lost as she was, except he was too small, too new to this galaxy to have a choice. He really did need someone, he depended on someone being there for him. Especially now that the universe had been bathed in dangers and darkness with Palpatine's rise. If Palpatine were to get wind that Anakin had a son and daughter, these two children would be hunted. Not only did they depend on someone to take care of them, they depended on someone to protect them.

As Zelina focused on Luke, the newborn seemed to calm down a little, and Zelina suddenly realized that she was holding a sun in her arms. She could feel his light burning bright and untampered in the Force, reaching out to her, the closest other Force sensitive, on a primal instinct, warming her grief and pain soaked soul in the process.

_Oh, Luke…_

That same something from earlier stirred, prompted into action by the tiny being squirming in her arms. Anakin was dead. Padme was dead…but Luke was alive. Luke _and_ Leia. They were alive, they had made it into this universe.

Luke was _here_.

Luke.

Zelina closed her eyes. How long had she had visions of this very child she now held in her arms? How long had he been appearing to her? How long had she waited for him?

A memory of a vision from years ago came back to her, a memory that was a lance to the heart considering the recent events, and yet...

_"Go with Luke; he'll lead you back," Anakin said gently, standing up._

_His hand was clasped in hers, but he was slipping out of her grasp. She clung to his fingertips, staring at him pleadingly. "Don't go, please! Stay with me!"_

_"I haven't left," he said with a small smile before his fingers slipped out of her grasp. The moment he was no longer in contact with her, he vanished. Zelina sat up with a cry and the young man—Luke—crouched down beside her._

_Luke offered her his hand with a small smile. "I'll take you back," he said gently, his voice compassionate and calm by nature it seemed. Hesitantly, Zelina took his proffered hand and Luke pulled her to her feet. She was unsteady, so he let her brace herself against him._

Had there been more to that vision? At the time, she'd simply thought Luke was leading her back to consciousness, back to the land of the living. Now…now she wondered at the layers of the vision. Anakin had left her, but Luke was still there. Luke led her back—back to herself.

Now Anakin really was gone…she wouldn't see him again…and yet…in a way…he was still with her.

The thought crossed her mind, and suddenly the weight of his lightsaber on her belt felt heavier, as did the japor snippet in her hand, and the child in her arms.

Zelina stared down at the babe in her arm with a fresh wave of tears sliding down her cheeks, clutching Luke closer to her chest, closer to her _heart_.

He needed someone to protect him from this dark new galaxy.

_You could be my protector…_

He needed someone to take care of him.

… _my guardian…_

And she had promised Anakin long before this…this _mess_ that she would train him.

… _my teacher…_

Anakin…Her last promise to Anakin…

_Take care of my family._

Zelina took a shaking breath, closing her eyes once more _. Anakin wanted me to help his family, he had me promise. And now Luke needs me. After all he's done for me, even if it was only visions, now it's my turn to help him. Now I need to be there for him._

_Don't give up on me now! I'm here, I'm staying, and I need you to stay too—please, you promised!_

He was right, even back then, he was right about now. She had promised. She'd promised. She couldn't give up now—it wasn't her time. She'd lost so much, but there was still something to live for.

_Live, for the living Jedi, we must. Live through us, forever they will._

If she was to give up now, it would be a dishonor to Anakin, to his legacy, to what he'd tried to protect, what he'd lived for, what he'd _died_ for. She needed to live for Luke, and as a way to respect Anakin, to breathe life into his dying wish. Not everything was lost. She still had people in her life, people she cared about, people who needed her. She had a purpose.

_On your feet, soldier. You're not dying on me now._

Zelina opened her aching soul up to the small child in her arms, feeling Luke's light slowly fill the space in her soul that Anakin had been such an integral part of. It wasn't the same—Anakin she had loved as her other half. Luke…well, they would see what would happen between her and Luke. She just knew it was different, and already, even with the fragile beginnings of a bond, it was enough to sooth the recent loss at least a little, and to fill some of the void that Anakin's death had left.

She couldn't lose herself now. She couldn't lose her courage, or her strength.

She still had something to fight for.


	4. From the Ground Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: Now that I have posted this chapter, I am going to start a one shot collection called Us Against the World. While it will feature some Clone Wars Era snippets, there will be a lot of one shots that fill in the nineteen years between this chapter and the prologue/next chapter, so it is WORTH going to read. It is not up yet (As of April 14, 2019), but it will be up ideally soon since its easier for me to write one shots during the craziness of the school year than it is for me to write full length chapters.

Zelina did not tear her gaze from the child in her arms, marveling over him as she carefully wrapped the white blanket around his flailing body.  The medical droid hovered over her, tuned out by Zelina’s musings as she simply watched Luke squirm in her arms and slowly soaked in his light like it was revitalizing her own.

The droid spoke to her in its mechanical voice, still in another language, stretching its arms out expectantly.  Zelina still did not raise her head, eyes trained on Luke, on his waving hand and kicking legs, at the mouth that worked as if searching for something, his little chest moving up and down with steady breath.

Was…was he hungry?  She couldn’t do anything to feed him—

“Zelina.”

Obi-Wan’s soft voice broke her concentration, and Zelina looked up to see that he had handed Leia to one of the medical droids.  Both Obi-Wan and the other medical droid were looking at Zelina expectantly, with Luke beginning to cry with insistence.

The medical droids would take care of him.  At the moment, there was nothing Zelina could do to help him except hand him over to the medical droids so they could take care of him.  For the moment…she had to let him go.

Reluctantly, Zelina raised her arms to gently hand Luke off to the medical droid, never taking her eyes off of the child until the droid had left the room and Luke was no longer within her view.  Slowly her fingers curled around the necklace still dangling from her hand, gaze unfocused as her thoughts threatened to drag her under yet again.

_No, don’t think about that—not yet  at least.  You need to hold it together just a little longer…for Luke’s sake…_

Carefully, Zelina dragged herself to her feet, using the wall behind her as a support.  Obi-Wan stepped forward, but Zelina held out a hand to stop him, trying her best not to look at Padme’s body.  She could gather her wits long enough to be of use to the newborn Skywalkers.  She’d sworn she’d look after Anakin’s family; she’d already orward, taking up the rear of the group of five.

Dark images and thoughts danced in the back of her mind like scorned lovers wielding a blade, waiting for the right moment to strike.  She ignored them, stepping out into the brightly lit hall and starting after the others.  As soon as someone noticed she was following, she met resistance.

“Knight Du’ahn, you should resting, now,” Bail protested, holding out a hand like he was expecting to have to steady or catch her.

“Concern you, this conversation does not,” Yoda added.

“I mean no disrespect, Master Yoda, but that’s not true,” Zelina said with barely maintained patience.  She was too tired and defeated to be trying to remain cordial right now.  “This conversation is going to be about the twins, about where we go from here as some of the few Jedi who remain—this conversation concerns me more than I think you fully realize.”

“Zelina,” Obi-Wan said in a voice that would have sounded far more scolding if he hadn’t sounded nearly as worn as she was.

“No, Obi-Wan,” Zelina said, her voice a little stronger this time.  “I’m going to be part of this conversation.  I need to be part of this conversation.”

Several gazes turned towards a displeased Yoda, waiting for his verdict.  Zelina gazed at the small Jedi Grandmaster unapologetically, willing him to see that she would not be moved.

“Sit in for the conversation, you may,” Yoda relented.  “But respect our decision, you will.”

Zelina didn’t answer his last addition, since she knew if they decided something she didn’t like, she wasn’t going to remain silent.  Instead, she waited until they continued forward, taking up the rear once again.  The five of them moved in silence into a small, stark white conference room, collectively finding seats around the central table.  After a few moments of heavy silence where Zelina struggled not to think, Yoda spoke.

“Hidden, safe, the children must be kept.”

Obi-Wan sighed, dropping his hand where it had been resting on his chin.  “We must take them somewhere where the Sith will not sense their presence.”

Zelina leaned back in her chair in silence, thumb absentmindedly stroking the designs of the japor snippet still clutched in one hand, mind running through a now extensive list of planets she had tucked away in her head, trying to think of the best candidate for a place to hide.  As she considered her list, Yoda proposed another idea.

“Split up, they should be.”

A pang went through Zelina’s heart at the words, but she kept her mouth shut.  She hated the thought of tearing apart the Skywalker family any more than it already had been—Shmi, Anakin, and Padme being going made Luke and Leia the last—but Yoda had a point.  For the sake of safety, they should probably be kept apart, at least until they were old enough to look after themselves.

Bail spoke up not long after Yoda.  “My wife and I will take the girl.  We’ve always talked about adopting a baby girl.  She _will_ be loved with us,” Bail stated, adding the last part with particular emphasis as he looked in the eyes of everyone sitting around the table.  He clearly wanted them to believe in what he said, to accept that Leia would have a good home with them even if she was separated from her brother.

Obi-Wan nodded, tearing his eyes from Bail and looking back towards Yoda.  “And what of the boy?”

“I’ll take him,” Zelina said quickly, before anyone else had the chance to speak and propose any alternate plans.

She hated the doubtful looks that were instantly sent her way, the pity and the disapproval.

“I’m not sure that’s…the best idea,” Obi-Wan said carefully.

“Why not?  Because I just saw everything I care about destroyed around me and might be unstable?  We’ve all lost everything today, or nearly, that shouldn’t be a reason to immediately shut me down.  I can take care of him,” Zelina said perhaps sharper than she’d meant to, earning more disapproving glances because of her tone.

“It isn’t any attacks on your person, Zelina, we’re just trying to think of what’s best for the children,” Satine said softly.  “You have been through a lot—more than the rest of us, perhaps.  You might not be in the right…state, to raise a child, even if you want to be.  And you would be doing it alone, with no knowledge of how to do so.”

“Too close to this, you are,” Yoda said seriously.

Zelina leaned forward, a hard glint appearing in her eyes and daring them to challenge her further.  “I will be the one to look after Luke.  Everything in my life has been leading up to this, I’m not going to turn my back on that boy now.”

“Live with his family, he should.  In a stable home, he will be, on Tatooine, away from the galaxy, away from the eyes of the Sith, he will be,” Yoda said sternly.

“That’s a terrible idea, Master Yoda,” Zelina said sharply.  “Again, I mean no offense, but it is.  Owen and Beru…while they’re nice people, they…or at least Owen…they won’t take kindly to the Force, their last experience with it might have left them afraid of it.  They might not allow Luke to get the training he’ll need.  Luke needs to be somewhere he’ll be allowed to grow.”

“Fit for this, you are not.  Respect our decision, you will,” Yoda returned, voice hard by Yoda’s standards.

“No,” Zelina returned bluntly, shocking the others in the room with the blatant disrespect.  “I will not respect this decision, because it’s the wrong decision.  I need to be the one to take care of Luke.”

Zelina glanced around at the others, allowing a pause for emphasis, but still speaking up before anyone could try and shoot her down again.

“The last thing Anakin made me promise, was to take care of his family.  I couldn’t save Padme, I couldn’t save him, and I agree that the best way to keep the twins safe is to separate them.  If one is found, at least the other will be safe, and I’m okay with Leia going to Bail even if that means I can’t take care of her, too.  But I can still keep my promise with Luke.  Anakin asked me to train Luke, Anakin wanted me to be a part of Luke’s life, and as his father—when Anakin was still Anakin, before he turned to the dark side—I’d say his wishes should be respected over what _you_ think is best.”

“Zelina, you’re under a lot of stress, you need rest,” Obi-Wan started to say warily.

“No!” Zelina said sharply, feeling tears spring up in full force as she looked at Obi-Wan.  “No, Obi-Wan—I’m not delirious or hysterical.  I’m _serious_.  I _will_ take care of Luke, with or without your permission.”

Ignoring the fact she pretty much had just said she would kidnap Luke and take off if necessary, and what that might say about her as a person, Zelina pushed forward with making her point.

“I have been having visions of Luke…since this war started,” she said in a softer voice, fingertips pressing against the table as she splayed her hand on the furniture’s surface in front of her.  “The Force has been giving me visions of Luke, visions where he tells me that I could be his protector, his guardian, his teacher, or not there at all.  He’s begged me to help him, to help his father.  I’ve already failed to help Anakin.  This is the one thing I have left to do that matters.  Let me take care of Luke.  Please.  I owe it to his entire family.  I promised him and his parents I would take care of him, the Force has basically told me I’m meant to take care of him for years.  Let me do this _one_ thing.”

By the end of her speech, some tears had escaped her fragile control, but her voice remained strong—even though she was clearly emotional.

“And what would you do if you were put in charge of his care?” Satine asked, voice level.  She clearly didn’t agree that Zelina should take care of him, but she was giving Zelina the chance to change her opinion, to prove she could.

“I’d take him the last place anyone would expect to find a Skywalker, least of all me—Tatooine,” Zelina looked at Yoda.  “That part wasn’t a bad idea.  It is the last place anyone would look for either of us.  But as much as I…dislike…the planet, I know it well.  I know how to survive there.  And while I strongly believe Luke shouldn’t be put in the care of his Aunt and Uncle, I do think it would do him well to be _around_ what remains of his family…aside from Padme’s family.  They’re too much in the public eye for us to be around, but Owen and Beru aren’t.  We’ll live near them to give him that connection.  I’ll raise him there, where I can safely train him without drawing attention because of how isolated it is, where he’ll be safe and hidden.  Tatooine is overlooked and far from the center of the galaxy—far from Palpatine’s gaze.”

Several gazes returned to Yoda once it was clear she’d stopped speaking.  “I think it sounds like a reasonable idea,” Bail said.  “If she needed any help, his Aunt and Uncle would be there, too.”

Yoda still did not speak, hand rubbing his jaw thoughtfully as he considered her proposal.  She found comfort in the fact that he was taking her seriously.  Her gaze did not waver from the Grandmaster, praying that just this once, the Order—or what remained of it—would listen to her, would be on her side.

Finally, he spoke.  “Take care of the boy, she will.  Trust the Force in this decision, we must.”

Zelina wilted in relief, feeling a few more tears slip down her cheeks as the pent up remains of her energy and determination finally released as she won the last battle she saw she needed to win…at least for now.  “Thank you, Master Yoda.  Truly.”

“Difficult, it will be.  A great responsibility, this is.  Prepared, you will need to be,” Yoda warned.  Zelina wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he was including her need to be emotionally prepared in that warning, especially considering her current emotional state of being.  The full weight of everything that had happened had not hit her yet, but it would—unforgiving and relentless, it would probably crush her in an instant with the enormity of its burden.  But now she would have Luke to look after.  She couldn’t let it destroy her when it did catch up to her.

Luke needed her.

Clinging to that thought internally, Zelina nodded, finally leaning back in her seat and quietly allowing her gaze to roam over the tired faces that currently kept her company.

“I’ll go with you,” Obi-Wan offered, clearly ready to help.  Initially, Zelina’s heart seemed to reach out at the offer, a little bit of hope re-entering its shell—but she quickly squashed it herself for the sake of Luke’s safety.

“No,” Zelina said softly.  “No, we shouldn’t have too many Force Sensitives in one place.  It won’t be safe.  Two Force Sensitives in one place, especially with how noticeable my presence and Luke’s are already, is plenty.  Besides, you’re needed elsewhere.”

Zelina turned her attention to Satine.  “Satine…with the Republic gone and the Empire in place—with the war over—”

“I no longer have the protection of the title of Duchess of Mandalore,” Satine finished for her.  Zelina nodded.

“Exactly.  You’re a known supporter of the Jedi, known close acquaintance of Obi-Wan’s, known to be stalwartly against tyranny and Palpatine’s rule—you’re in danger now.  You need to disappear.”  Zelina looked at Obi-Wan.  “You should go with her—keep her safe, find someplace for the two of you to lie low.  Satine needs your help more than Luke and I do.”

That last part was a partial lie, since Zelina felt like she was going to need all the help she could get…but Satine would need help, and it would be too dangerous to have too many Force Sensitives in one place.  This was something she’d have to do alone—Force Sensitive wise.  Hopefully she would have Owen and Beru’s support, at least.

Obi-Wan and Satine exchanged looks, something passing between them in the brief silence before Obi-Wan nodded.  “Again…Zelina makes a good point.  That just leaves the children from the Temple.”

“Take them with me, I will.  A place in mind, I have, where hidden, we can all be.  Train them while in my exile on Dagobah, I will,” Yoda said with a nod.

 _So they worry about me taking care of one, but Yoda’s going to take care of five_ , Zelina couldn’t help but note bitterly, before forcing herself to stop before any feelings over that perception could cement.  With these arrangements, attitudes in this moment wouldn’t matter for years to come because she probably wouldn’t see the others for years, close to two decades, perhaps.

 _Don’t think of how much time that is_ , she told herself harshly before focusing on the conversation, again.

“Until the time is right, disappear, we will,” Yoda announced in a manner that caused the group to believe that was the end of the conversation…for now.  Everyone rose to leave except for Yoda, who began to address them individually as they departed.  “Rest, you must, Du’ahn, so take care of the boy, you can.  Master Kenobi, wait a moment.”

As Obi-Wan hung back, Satine came even with Zelina, concern etched in every line of her face as she carefully fell into step beside Zelina.

“I hope you understand I wasn’t trying to say you’re incompetent, Zelina.  I’m just worried about you, and if you can really take on raising a child on your own right now,” Satine said softly.

“I appreciate the concern, Satine, but I need to do this…more than I can ever hope to explain,” Zelina murmured.

Satine sighed.  “At least promise that you will rest enough to regain your strength before you leave for Tatooine.  That little boy is going to need you at your best if you’re going to keep him safe on a planet like Tatooine.”

“I know…” Zelina murmured.  She didn’t say out loud how Luke was all she had left now, really, considering they were all about to part ways and scatter through the galaxy.  Her entire purpose had shifted to focus on the newborn babe in the facility—she would die before she let anything happen to Anakin’s son.  She wasn’t about to let herself get in the way of Luke’s wellbeing…but she also didn’t know how well she’d be able to put herself back together once reality caught up to her—she already knew she wouldn’t have every piece, and as a result, would not be the same person she’d been before.  She’d been changing through this whole war, and now here she was, twenty years old, completely alone in the universe, and taking on the care of the man she’d loved’s orphaned child, taking him to one of the most unforgiving planets she knew of in the name of his safety.  She didn’t know what lay ahead of her, and she was afraid.

“I know.”

* * *

“I’d ask where you’re going, General, but I know its into hiding…so I won’t.”

Zelina stood amongst her men, plus Jesse and Echo, in the dark corner of a hangar in the city of Theed.  Bail had brought them all here when they left the medical facility, and here they would all part ways.  Zelina would miss Padme’s funeral, and as much as the fact tore another wound in the tattered remains of her heart, Zelina knew it was for Luke’s safety she leave as soon as possible.  Her men were going to scatter to the corners of the galaxy and try to find new lives to live, Obi-Wan and Satine were going to go their own way, Yoda had already taken the five children who’d survived the Temple attack, and Bail was staying for the funeral.

Zelina was leaving any moment, now, but first…some much needed goodbyes had to happen.

Zelina gave Cruiser a weak smile, clasping his shoulder.  “I’d take you with me if I could…but I’m afraid this is a mission you can’t follow me on…though I will sorely miss your company.”  Zelina looked around at the men surrounding her, feeling her throat start to close with emotion.  “I’ll miss all of you.  I owe you all my life, and after everything we’ve been through together…I consider all of you brothers.  Take care of yourselves, all of you…and maybe we’ll meet again someday in the future.  It will be the distant future…but far better than never.”

No words were exchanged to cheapen the moment.  Instead, one by one, Zelina hugged the men who were present as a way of saying goodbye, something that mildly surprised them at first, but they gradually accepted as she hugged more and more of them.  After giving Keen-eye a firm hug and receiving a murmured good luck from the skilled sniper, Zelina turned to face her Commander once more.  Cruiser nodded stiffly, relenting to a hug tense with emotion and a slight awkwardness considering the professional relationship they’d maintained until days ago when he’d found her in the Temple.  As she pulled away, he clasped her arm to catch her attention.

“When that day comes…when you come out of hiding…you just need to say the word, and I’ll be there,” Cruiser told her firmly.  Zelina nodded.

“Take care of yourself, Cruiser.  I expect to see you again most of all someday.”

“Well, I haven’t let you down, yet…I won’t let you down then, either,” Cruiser said with a bitter smile.  Off in her peripherals, Zelina saw Obi-Wan and Satine approaching, and knew she had to finish her goodbye.

“May the Force be with you, Cruiser,” she said, reluctantly letting go and taking a step back.

“No, General…may the Force be with you—I have the feeling you’ll need it far more than I will,” Cruiser said in parting before he turned and walked away, leaving Zelina to turn her attention to Satine and Obi-Wan.

When Satine reached her, the two women embraced, giving one another a tight hug.

“Thank you for the credits you and Bail pooled together to get us started on Tatooine.  It’s going to make things a lot easier,” Zelina murmured.

“It was the least we could do,” Satine murmured as she pulled away, hands lingering momentarily on Zelina’s arms like she was afraid Zelina would disappear as soon as she let go.  “I just wish there was more I could do to help.”

Zelina smiled sadly.  “Well, you could visit every now and then—if its safe for you to do so, of course.  It might help me keep some sanity on that dustball of a planet,” Zelina said, far too much of her pain leaking into her tone for the statement to completely come off as a joke.  The other woman could only attempt another smile in the face of her almost desperate words.

Zelina turned to face Obi-Wan once she was done addressing Satine, suddenly unable to find words to address the only person left alive she’d known since she was a child.  Her chest seemed to constrict, robbing her of air to speak, let alone breathe.

“Luke?” Obi-Wan asked, attempting to at least start towards a goodbye.

“Already safely on board, and asleep.  If I’m lucky, he’ll sleep through most of the trip,” she answered softly.

“You’ll be good for him, Zelina,” Obi-Wan said suddenly, surprising her.  “You knew his parents better than anyone…and you’re a good person.  I know you’ll raise him well, so long as you stay true to who you are and try your best.  No one knows how to handle a Skywalker better than you do.”

Zelina blinked a few times to try and dispel any tears, letting out a long sigh as she tried to gather herself.  “Thank you, Obi-Wan…for everything.  I know Anakin and I could both be ungrateful handfuls sometimes, but…you were always there for us.  I’m going to miss you terribly.”

Obi-Wan gave her a pained smile.  “As will I.”

Zelina nodded, picking up a bag she’d sat down by a rack of crates that needed to be loaded into a nearby freighter.  If she didn’t leave now, she might never find the strength to turn her back on what remained of her old life.  She had to go now, while she still had some control.  “Right…well…good luck, you two.  Don’t waste the time you’ve got, okay?  I’m serious, I better be hearing some juicy gossip about you two every now and then,” Zelina said, trying to go for an upbeat attitude while also trying to hint that she wanted them to be happy together, despite everything that had happened.  At the same time, something whispered in her mind to just get it over with, to turn and run before she panicked and refused to leap into the unknown.

Satine was smiling, Obi-Wan looking only slightly uncomfortable.  “Take care of yourself, Zelina.  We’ll all see each other again, someday,” Satine said.

“I will,” Zelina assured her, already making her way towards the ship that she’d hired to take her and Luke away to their new life.

“Zelina,” Obi-Wan called, causing her to look over her shoulder and pause.  “The Force will be with you…always.”

Zelina inclined her head.  “May the Force be with you, too, Obi-Wan.”

She had to swiftly look away after that, not wanting the two behind her to see the tears that were now welling in her eyes.  Every step she took added a new weight to her movements, and she was hyperaware of where the two stood in the hanger.  She could feel the distance growing between them, and her throat tightened as that growing distance seemed to be a physical embodiment of everything she’d ever known rapidly disappearing behind her, never to be retrieved.

What was she doing?  What was she supposed to do with herself, now, what would her life be?  She was alone in the galaxy, she was going to be in hiding for decades, possibly, she was leaving everything she knew behind…

Inside the ship, a baby’s cry rent the air, a sound that called her attention from her worsening thoughts.

Luke.

She just had to keep reminding herself that she was here for Luke.  The answer to every question she asked herself from here on out…would be Luke.

* * *

Her first step was full of trepidation.

She felt the blast of unforgiving, arid air and felt the sting of sand in the wind pelt her skin as soon as the landing ramp lowered.  What little she possessed for now was in three packs slung across her back and shoulders, her Jedi garb stripped to the bare essentials to be more accustomed to the weather and less recognizable.  Luke was held firmly in one arm, leaving the other open in case there was a threat, or she needed to do something.  He was momentarily quiet, half asleep in her arms as they arrived on what would be their home for years to come.

Zelina stepped out of the ship, feeling any connection she might have convinced herself she still had to her old life sever as steel turned to sand underfoot.  She looked out over the endless expanse of sand and scorching sun, subconsciously holding the bundled Luke protectively closer to herself.

Images flashed through her mind’s eye as she surveyed the familiar landscape, images of pod racers, of slave hovels, of the gruesome explosion of a triggered chip, of a whip as it cracked through the air, the panic of a Tusken camp one fateful night, of a homestead with temporary gravemarkers not far away from the main house…

These sands were haunted with the memories of her horrid past, of some of her greatest losses, and mistakes both she and Anakin had made.  It was almost like she was trying to escape the injuries of Coruscant and Mustafar by reopening her old wounds, like the faded pain could distract somehow from the new.

A harsh wind whipped her hair about her face, sand stinging her cheeks as she looked towards the run down town she’d had the pilot take her to.

Zelina closed her eyes, dragging up a faint memory from so long ago.  Once, she’d used it to step into an exciting new life.  Then she’d had people she knew and cared about accompanying her, she’d been stepping voluntarily into a life she wanted for herself.  This time…she was alone, returning to this place of suffering, forced into hiding…

“Be brave…and don’t look back,” she whispered to herself, reopening her eyes to focus on the town as she reached for inner strength.  For Luke’s sake.

“Don’t look back.”


	5. Luke Skywalker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Quick note, just wanna say, if you haven't seen it, there's a spin off book that's a collection of short stories covering things that have happened in the 19 year gap Zelina and Luke have been on Tatooine (As well as some new stories about pre empire era). There will be some explanations on how things have changed, like explanations about how Zelina and Han met, how Zelina got her second lightsaber, etc. Also, some stories or events mentioned in passing will be covered in that collection as well. Of Love and War: Us Against the World.

This side of the house was silent, since his mother was busy making dinner and had left him in his room to play.  He didn’t mind, he enjoyed playing with his toy ships and making them have dogfights with each other.  The Imperial ships lost, of course.  Usually he had the heroes from his mother’s stories, especially his father, be the winners.  He might have accidentally broken a few toys while playing, but his mother was kind enough to replace those toys every now and then.

Of course, now that he was older, he wasn’t always playing.  When he wasn’t at school, or helping Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on the farm, or helping his mother after hours at the cantina, he liked to tear things apart to see how they worked, and see if he could fix them.  He was trying to convince his mother to let him start working towards being a pilot, but for some reason she was resistant.  She would give him things to read about piloting, but she hadn’t let him fly anything yet.  One day she would, though, he just knew it.

Right now, however, as much as he tried to entertain himself with his belongings, nothing stuck.  It had been like that for the past several days, but not nearly as bad as it was now.  He kept picking things up with the intention to do _something_ , but he just ended up setting it right back down.

Maybe if he tried to find something outside of his room to do he’d have more luck?

Quiet as ever, as if making any noise would somehow disturb his mother who seemed to have the patience of a saint with him most of the time, Luke slipped out of his room.  Once out in the center space of their home, he paused, unsure of where he wanted to go to try and entertain himself.  The refresher and the storage room were both an instant no, and his mother was making dinner in the kitchen, which left the living room and…

His gaze passed over his mother’s room, which normally would have also been an instant no, but this time something felt different.  This time his eyes were drawn back to the door, and he felt the sudden urge to go inside.  He wasn’t supposed to, so he probably should just go into the living room anyway and see if he could entertain himself in there.  
Yet, his mother was busy in the kitchen, so…surely it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick peek?  To figure out why he had the sudden urge to go inside?  His mother had told him more than once to always follow his instincts and strong feelings like this, so wasn’t snooping just…following what his mother told him to do?

Before he could stop himself and admit the faulty logic of that thought process, Luke found himself already moving towards his mother’s room, casting a partially guilty look over his shoulder towards the kitchen directly across the center room where his mother was.  He still slipped inside despite the guilt, the door’s hiss as it slid open and shut making him jumpy.

So now that he was inside…why was he here?

Puzzled, Luke looked with disinterest around the simply decorated room, ignoring the bed and passing over the small dresser with a mirror on top.  For a moment he thought to check the small footlocker at the foot of the bed, but something didn’t seem right about checking it.  Instead, he found himself walking over to the roughly spun rug that lay in the open space of the room between the bed and dresser, covered in the sand and dirt of the room.  He knelt down beside it with his back to the door, running his hand over the sand-infested surface, and while the feel of the fabric brought a faint sense of familiarity, it didn’t seem to be what he was looking for.  Instead, his hand wandered to the edge of the rug before pulling it back, moving the now partially rolled up rug by the wall.

For a few seconds, he thought he was simply staring at the floor, until his outstretched hand brushed along the sandy surface and revealed a flash of metal.  Surprised, Luke swept aside the sand far more vigorously, revealing a small metal box buried in the ground, it’s latch and lid facing upwards.

Well, he’d already come this far, he might as well open it.  Maybe this was why he’d been drawn to the room.

There was a soft his as Luke opened the box, some sand falling within as he lifted the lid to reveal the contents within.

There was a decent collection of some sort of cube shaped device, some chips, and an old datapad to go with it, as well as what seemed to be a small sack at the way bottom acting as a cushion for the contents of the box to rest upon.  While he was curious about the cubes, he was far more drawn to the cylindrical object that seemed to be placed with reverence in its own corner of the box.  Looking at it brought on a strong pull towards it, with a far stronger and deeper sense of familiarity falling over him.  Something warm seemed to be coiling in his chest as he reached out on instinct, electricity seeming to spark between his outstretched hand and the object within.

He’d seen something similar with his mother.  Rarely, and it was always well hidden, but usually if there was some kind of serious trouble, she had something like this hidden on her, and he knew she kept one far more accessible in her room.  Hers hadn’t drawn him in as strongly as this one did now.

Luke’s hand closed over the object, and he slowly lifted it out of the box, noting that it was heavier than he’d initially thought it would be.  The metal was cool to the touch, and looked slightly warn and marked, like it had been through some things.  The fingers of his other hand traced over the curves and details of the object as his hand turned it over, looking it over in wonder.  It almost brought to mind…he wasn’t sure.  Images, perhaps?  Hazy from his imagination, but in his mind he thought he saw…

“Luke?  What are you doing in here?”

Luke scrambled to his feet at his mother’s voice, attempting to hide his discovery behind his back as he turned to face her.

The disapproval Luke could see in his mother’s eyes made him duck his head as she passed him, kneeling down by her secret box in the floor.

“How did you find this?” she asked, her voice a little harder and sharper, but not enough to make him think he was about to get grounded for life.  Not to mention, for some reason her words didn’t quite sound like a question.  Almost like she already knew the answer and was simply looking for a confirmation.

His mind raced to try and think of an excuse that would get him in the least trouble, hands fiddling with his find still hidden behind his back.

“I…”  He hesitated, thought better about lying, and reluctantly showed his mother his find.  “I just felt like I should look.  Until I found this.”

Something flashed across his mother’s face as she took the cylinder from Luke, turning it over in her hands as a myriad of emotions flickered across her face one after another.  Pain kept showing up repeatedly, as well as a wistful, far away glaze across her features.  She sighed, nodding as if she was accepting something before she lifted the cylinder for Luke to look at once more, though she kept it in her hands instead of giving it to him.

“Do you know what this is?” she asked softly.  Luke shook his head, stuck between wanting to look at the ground as he waited to get in trouble for snooping and glancing at his mother curiously as he tried to puzzle out where she was going with this.  “This…was your father’s.”

Luke’s head snapped up in surprise.  His…his father’s?  Did that have something to do with why he was drawn to it?  And…what _was_ it?

His mother continued speaking, which made him snap back to attention, and what she said…knocked his entire universe off balance.

“It was his lightsaber.  Every Jedi carries at least one of these, and your father and I were both Jedi before the Empire rose.  I haven’t told you because I wanted to make sure you understood how serious this is, and make sure you understand you can’t tell anyone about who we were no matter who they are, unless I tell you it’s all right.  Not any of your teachers, your friends, not any adults, no matter who they are or what they do.  Considering you found this yourself…well, I’m going to take this as a sign putting off telling you anymore than I already have would be stalling.”

Luke’s head was spinning as he tried to process this.  His mother…and his father…were Jedi?  They had lightsabers?  When Mom told him her stories, she’d never said that she used to be a Jedi, or that his father had been a Jedi—she’d only told stories about their heroics and adventures.  Now that he thought about it, she’d always avoided that detail—she’d simply said they fought in the war, and that they were sent by the old Republic.  She’d never even mentioned lightsabers in her stories about his parents, or even what lightsabers looked like in any of her stories about Jedi.  Looking back…she’d left out anything that might make Luke think maybe his father and mother had been Jedi.  Had some of the stories she’d told about the Jedi of the Republic been about his father?  About his mother?  Now she was telling him about it, but she was also saying that…knowing was dangerous?  That telling could be dangerous?

“Why can’t I tell anyone?” Luke asked hesitantly.

“Because,” his mother started to say, setting aside his father’s lightsaber for a moment as she took Luke’s hands in her own, holding his gaze.  “Bad people took over the Replublic and made the Empire, and they tried very hard to wipe out the Jedi.  That’s what happened to your father.  But they didn’t get all of the Jedi; some got away, like me.  However, if the Empire finds out about any Jedi, they send people to try and get rid of them.  That’s why you can’t tell anyone unless I say it's okay.  Even if it’s someone you know and trust, they might accidentally say something at the wrong time or to the wrong person without knowing they’re doing something wrong, and then we’ll be in trouble.  Do you understand?”

Luke nodded, trying not to pay too much attention to the sudden terrifying image in his mind of shadowy figures coming to take away his mother.  He’d already lost his father and his other mother before he could even remember, he didn’t want to lose his mother.  The Jedi thing alone was a lot to try and wrap his head around, he didn’t even want to think about having the possibility of another loss hanging over him.

“So…so my father was a Jedi?” he asked carefully.

“He was.  One of the best,” his mother said with a gentle smile.  She let go of his hands, reaching over to pick up the lightsaber once more.  “And I’m sure he’d love it if when you’re older you use inherit this…but you’re going to need some training first.”

It was like she was giving him some kind of shock therapy with all this information she kept dropping on him.  Maybe if he hadn’t found the lightsaber he would have been getting all this information a little at a time instead of all at once.  Maybe he should have just asked to make dinner instead of snooping in her room.  And yet, at the same time, as overwhelming as all of this was…it was also really amazing.  She was saying that he could be a Jedi some day, a hero like in the stories she told, with a lightsaber and everything—his father’s lightsaber, specifically.

“Train?  You mean me, a Jedi?  Like my father?” Luke asked his mother, brain trying to wrap around yet another idea she was proposing.

“You are your father’s son.  And that means many, many things, including the fact that you have the potential to become an amazing Jedi—if you’re willing to put in the work,” she said patiently.

If he was willing?  Of course he was!  He could be a Jedi, just like in the stories, like his father was, and like his mother apparently was!  He’d be able to go on adventures of his own when he was older!  He’d do all the work he’d have to!  “Yes!  I-I am!  Please, mother, I wanna be a Jedi like my father!”

“All right.  You will.  Better, even, if you work hard enough.  We’ll have to start small, though, and you have to promise that you won’t tell anyone about any of this Jedi stuff, or show anyone what you’re learning.  It’s for our safety,” his mother said seriously, making sure that she was holding his gaze so she would know he understood.

“I will, I promise,” Luke said eagerly with nods as energetic to match his tone.  Then he mellowed, an old pain bubbling to the surface with all of the talk of the father figure missing from his life.  “I…I wish I’d known him…my father.”

“I know, Little Dragon, I know,” his mother murmured, pulling him into a tight hug as he smiled weakly at the old pet name.  “But do you want to know what else?  He’s always with us.”

 _It’s not the same_ , Luke couldn’t help but think.  Something must have tipped his mother off about the direction of his thoughts, because she pulled back and gripped his shoulders in a gentle but firm grip.

“He is.  He’s with you every day, for every step of your life, and I’m sure he is and will continue to be so proud of the man you’re becoming.  Do you want to know how I know?”  His mother placed gentle fingers under his chin, studying his features with a tender smile.  “Because I see him every day, alive in you…Come here.”

Luke’s mother guided him over to the mirror, turning him to face it as she crouched down just behind him, looking over his shoulder with her hands still on his arms.  “I see him…in your chin, and in your eyes.  Your hair came from your father.  And your nose.  How much you love adventure and want to fly, your energy, your loyalty—”

Luke squinted at the mirror, looking at each feature his mother pointed out that he could physically see.  But since he’d never seen what his father looked like, and likely never would…he had no way of knowing, and part of him doubted what she was saying.  He turned his head away from the mirror to look back at his mother.  “You’re teasing me—”

“No, I’m being serious!” she insisted, turning him all the way around to look at her.  “There is so much of your father in you…he really does live in you, every day.  As does your mother—your _real_ mother.”

His mother.  Right.  It always confused him when his mother—the one standing in front of him—got insistent about the fact she wasn’t his _real_ mother, that another woman had him as a baby.  But while he understood he had a mother he would never know, he knew the woman in front of him as the woman who raised him, as his mother in every other sense of the word.  She was his mother, too.  She used to get upset when he called her mother, but recently, she seemed to be accepting it.

Luke was glad she was.  She was his mother, and those times when she’d rejected that when he was younger had been hurtful and confusing.  Now that he was older, he was starting to understand why she’d reacted that way.

Maybe when he was all grown he would really understand why his mother had acted the way she had about who she was to him.

His mother put a hand on the side of his face, a thumb gently brushing along his cheek.  “Your father’s in your smirk, but your mother is in your smile.  In your softer features, your level head.  They never left you, Luke, never.  They’re with us, every day, all around us, watching over us and keeping us safe.  If you ever miss them, all you ever really need to do to catch a glimpse of them…is look in the mirror.  And one day, when you’re more experienced and older, I promise your father’s lightsaber will be yours.  That’ll be another part of him you’ll get to keep with you.”

Luke looked back at the mirror, taking another, much more careful look.  Did he really look like his father that much?  Were there parts of his mother that bubbled to the surface?  And as much as his mother’s words might seem like absolute gibberish meant to try and comfort him, there was this _feeling_ in his heart.  This warmth that seemed to glow when he thought about what she said.  Maybe—just maybe—that was the part of his parents that was still with him; that, as his mother was saying, lived on through him.  
Even as he gave that thought life, the warmth’s glow seemed to grow larger, enough to nearly envelope him.

They were with him, weren’t they?

With all this talk about his parents, it made him at least a little curious.  If she had something of his father’s that would one day be his…

“And…and my mother?” Luke asked hesitantly, turning back to look at her.

A faraway look suddenly settled in his mother’s gaze as she waited in silence for a few long moments, appearing to ponder something about Luke’s question.  Finally, just when Luke was about to think he’d made some sort of mistake, his mother released him from her grip, reaching for something that was around her neck, out of sight.

As she lifted it up and over her head, he realized it was a necklace she was taking off…and now holding out in front of him so he could see.

“When your father was nine, he made this himself from a japor snippet and gave it to your mother.  I don’t think she ever took it off…not until the day she died, when she gave it to me.”  Carefully, his mother widened the chain with both hands and carefully hung it around Luke’s neck, continuing to speak as Luke picked up the carved medallion to take a closer look at it.  “It’s yours now.  I suggest taking good care of it.”

Luke looked up at his mother.  “Thank you, mother,” Luke said softly, an indescribable feeling he’d not yet experienced in his young life falling over him as his thumb ran over the smooth surface of the japor snippet that gave him a vital connection to both his deceased parents.

* * *

**_(19 Years After the Rise of the Empire)_ **

Luke tucked the necklace under his tunic so that it wouldn’t blow about and possibly whack him in the face while he was in the speeder, hand lingering as always on the japor medallion for a few seconds.

Luke shook himself before he could dwell on his fantasies of the past, looking over at his mother sitting in the driver’s seat as he let his hand drop away to rest on his side of the speeder.

“So how long do you think we’ll be at the cantina tonight?” he asked.  He always volunteered to help out when he could, no matter what his mother planned to have them do, but he still wanted a heads up so he knew what to expect when he did help out.

Zelina tilted her head in his direction, hair pulled up in the messy bun she usually kept it in when she worked, which also helped keep it out of her face while she drove the speeder.  “The usual cleanup and closing routine, there is some damages we’re gonna have to take care of I’ve already bought replacements for, and Han has a shipment for us we’ll have to put away.”

“Nothing crazy, then, just a normal if slightly busier than normal night,” Luke sighed, leaning his head back against his headrest.

“Maybe after Han leaves you can get some practice in,” Zelina suggested.

Luke cracked an eyelid open to glance over at his mother.  “Anything in particular you want me to work on?”

“Your telekinesis could use some refinement, that’s something you can do while you’re helping out.”

“What, no lightsaber forms?” Luke joked.

“Not unless you’re going to go out into the street and knock some stormtroopers over with some Force pushes as well,” Zelina replied dryly.  “Save that stuff for your canyon training sessions.”

“Well, not only in the canyon.”

“You know what I mean.”

Luke chuckled, turning his attention back to the desert racing by as they headed for town, closing his eyes and feeling the wind whip at his hair—as well as a little sand.  
Suddenly, his mother broke the silence again, “You’re not coming along because you need another replacement part for that skyhopper, are you?”

“What?  No!  You act like I always need repairs,” Luke complained, rolling his eyes.

“You almost do,” she said pointedly.

“I don’t need repairs…though I am hoping to get some parts to improve the gyro-stabilizer.  It’s been a little temperamental recently,” Luke admitted sheepishly.

His mother smiled.  “I swear, if you’re not repairing it, you’re messing around with it trying to improve it in some way.”

Luke shrugged.  “What else am I going to do on this dustball?”  His mother shot him a look that had him quickly holding up a finger, fighting a smile that was trying to sneak across his face.  “Don’t…don’t say it.”

A few moments of silence stretched between them, and as soon as Luke started to relax…

“Train.”

Luke started to laugh quietly, while his mother simply smirked victoriously.

Since his mother had a bit of a lead foot, it didn’t take too long for them to reach town, with Zelina pulling the speeder into its usual spot behind the cantina.

“I’ll secure the speeder, you get us inside,” Zelina said, shooing Luke towards the back door as she hopped out of the speeder and started shutting it down and locking it in place, doing her best to hide it from view to discourage thieves.  Luke, meanwhile, when to the back door, hand briefly touching the scanning pad so he could get inside.

He passed the back room with a quick glance to see what needed to be done there—cleaning, mostly, including some dishes—Luke continued to the main part of the cantina, coming out just off to the side of the bar and looking out over the area.  There were some private booths, though since his mother walked the floor she was able to keep an eye on them to make sure there wasn’t anything happening in her cantina she didn’t allow, like slave deals.  There were also tables arranged on the main floor, a couple gambling tables that were strategically placed near Ameenah’s usual posts so if trouble broke out—as they usually did when cantinas and gambling were mixed—it could be controlled again, and some holoscreens strategically placed so that all her patrons could see at least one screen.  The bar was long and placed across the back wall, with glass shelves and mirrors that housed a wide array of alcohols from across the galaxy—with the illegal stuff hidden under the counters awaiting the order of those who knew how to get it.

Well, when everything was in it’s place that’s how the cantina looked.  Right now…well, it looked like that little bit of damages came from a fight that had broken out, considering one of the private corners and a couple tables on the main floor was a mess of broken furniture.  Something must have been thrown as well, because there was a large crack in the mirror behind the alcohol shelves.

And he was probably going to be the one cleaning most of this mess up.

“Well, you know the drill, don’t just stand there,” his mother chided him as she entered the room, hopping over the counter and starting to take the bottles and shelves off of the wall so she could get to the glass underneath.

“I thought you said these were just _some_ damages—what happened?” Luke asked.

“Nothing special.  I think a business deal went very, very badly, and it spilled over into the main floor before Ameenah and I were there to break it up.  Minimal casualties,” Zelina said flippantly.

“Well, how long do we have until the cantina reopens for the night shift?” Luke asked, already picking his way towards the wreckage.

“An hour, so we’ll have to be quick.  Han and Chewie should be here with their shipment in about ten minutes.”

“Right,” Luke murmured, already starting to kick and place the debris into two piles—large, partial pieces and shattered fragments.

When his mother first took control of the cantina, she’d started to implement a brief closing time that gave the cantina enough of a break around sunset to clean up any messes from the day shift and prepare for the night shift, with a second brief closing time around dawn to do the opposite.  It was useful, smart…but it did only give them a short period of time to clean up messes like this on top of the rest of the routine.

Better than having to clean up during hours, when some of the patrons might take advantage of the increased chaos to try and do something his mother would usually throw people out for doing.  Not everyone was happy with the rules that his mother had implemented, and while they could simply go to another cantina, this one was still popular, and the best place to find business.  Even though she’d banned slavery deals of any kind on a planet run by a Hutt and known for its slavery history.  Of course, her activity on Tatooine had gone well beyond business related opposition to slavery and cantina ownership over the years.  Thankfully, she knew how to make a difference in the area without kicking the Hutts or the Empire hard enough to bring their attention to the two of them.

Something he hadn’t entirely appreciated when he was younger until his mother had stirred things up a little too much and they’d found mercenaries at their door.  Even then, seeing what his mother had done made him a little too cocky, and _he’d_ been the one to kick the next of Tatooine’s scum a little too hard.  That was when he’d really learned why they needed to be subtle and couldn’t afford to do too much and bring unwanted attention to themselves.

Of course, that had been when he was younger, and only pertained to while they were living on this rock.  Now…

Silence had settled over the cantina for the few minutes they worked before Luke cleared his throat, his train of thought prompting him to bring up what had turned into a repeated conversation between him and his mother, with no changes in the outcome or the basic argument yet, unfortunately.

“Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are almost all set on the farm.  They’re not going to need my help much longer,” Luke said casually.  It was true.  It seemed like his aunt and uncle had been stretching to find something for him to do.  Between his training, piloting, work on the farm, and on the cantina, he’d still managed to get stuck in a routine that was starting to drive him mad.  The few people he’d become friends with had left, leaving only the people his age who went out of their way to pick on him whenever he was around, which meant he was getting more and more isolated.  The only thing he talked about with his aunt and uncle really was farm work, and Han and Chewbacca were frequently off-world running jobs, so Luke’s conversations with the smuggler were woefully few and far between, since Luke got a lot of his information about what was really happening in the galaxy from them.  Which meant his only source of steady socialization was his mother, who he loved unconditionally, but he desperately needed more than one dependable person to talk to and a mind-numbing routine on a planet as barren as Tatooine.

Especially when he knew he was meant to be doing something more with his life and everything he’d been taught.

Zelina sighed over by the bar, setting one of the glass bottles she’d just pulled out of a large crate down with a sigh.  “Luke, are we really going over this again?”

“Mother, we can’t stay here much longer, can we?” Luke cut in quickly, turning around to face her.  “I’m almost twenty years old, all my friends have already left, there’s almost nothing else for me to do on the farm, the Rebellion’s getting more and more active…”

“When the time is right—” Zelina started to say tiredly.

“You keep saying that, but I don’t think that’s what you mean anymore,” Luke challenged, standing straight even as part of him shrunk inwardly to be challenging his mother on something she felt so strongly about.  “I’m ready to go out there, I’m ready to join the fight, to do something.  Why aren’t you?”

Zelina said nothing, simply gazing at him in steady silence as she pulled more bottles out of the crate.  “Luke, we’re not like everyone else.  As soon as we step into the conflict, nothing you’ve ever known is going to be the same.  Everything is going to change, and not just for us,” she finally said in a soft voice, still remaining perfectly calm even as Luke’s frustration bubbled.

“Obi-Wan, Satine, and Pria have been in the fight for years, why are we still hiding?”  Luke asked pointedly.  Two of them were Jedi, so things had already changed for the Rebellion when they joined the fight.  How much more could things change if he and his mother joined?  Why was she so resistant?

Zelina’s voice and hands remained perfectly steady—she didn’t even halt what she was doing.  “They were smoked out of their hiding place a long time ago, they didn’t have a choice.  You know that—its the same reason they stopped making those already rare visits.  Its for our sake they haven’t even called, you know, so we can stay safe a little longer.”

Having reached the counter by now as he subconsciously moved closer, Luke leaned against the counter, nearly desperate.  “But Mother, I don’t want to spend my whole life hiding on this rock—”

“And you won’t.”

“But at this rate, I will.  This isn’t about joining the fight at the right time anymore, its about joining the fight when _you’re_ ready to admit I’m old enough, that I’m perfectly capable of getting involved.”

A sharp knock on the back door echoed towards them, accompanied by a friendly Wookiee roar.  Luke leaned back, and his mother sat one more bottle on the counter before making her way towards the back.

“We’ll finish this conversation later,” his mother told him seriously before she disappeared into the back.

Luke sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration as he looked back at the cleared space he now had to drag new furniture into and weld down—after Han left, if he couldn’t find the proper tools.

“Kid!  Good, go grab a crate and help lug these in.”

Luke looked up as Han appeared from the back, one rather large crate in hand he was carrying towards the bar.  Chewbacca was right behind him, giving a warm Wookiee growl in greetings.  A smile flickered across Luke’s face at the sight of the smuggler, and he made his way over.

“Sure.  Good to see you again, Han.”

Han rolled his eyes, scoffing as Luke approached.  “Please—you only like me for all the stories I bring.”

“That’s not true,” Luke protested.  “Not to prove your point, but do you have any news?”

Han hummed.  “You know, you’d probably be a lot more satisfied if you went out and saw the galaxy yourself.”

Luke groaned, about to start on his well-rehearsed ‘I’m stuck on this rock’ complaint routine when his mother’s voice interrupted.

“That’s already a hot topic, Solo, don’t encourage it—at least not tonight,” she said in a warning tone, handing the crate she was carrying off to Chewbacca, who easily deposited it in her storage space in the floor behind the cantina bar.  Han looked warily between Luke and his mother, a light going in his mind.  The smuggler had witnessed varying degrees of this argument before.

“Right…didn’t mean to step into the middle of family drama,” Han said carefully.  Luke scowled.

“I’m never getting out of here,” he said bitterly.  Han turned partially towards Luke, a sympathetic look flickering across his face.

“I mean, I don’t blame you, kid, this place is a wasteland.”  He turned towards Luke’s mother, who was watching the conversation calmly from where she still stood by the cantina bar.  “Why you’re so intent on keeping him here is beyond me.”

Zelina’s gaze was level on Luke.  “I have my reasons.”

Luke turned to Han.  “But you’re on my side about all this, right?”

Chewbacca chuffed softly in the background as Han raised his hand in a ‘Who, me?’ gesture.  “Yeah, I’ve seen what your mother can do when you’re involved, I’m not about to get in the middle of this.”

“Listen boys, as fun as it is to go through these circular conversations over and over again, we do have a deadline, so how about we get back to packing things in.  Chewie, do you think you could help Luke move a few tables into place, if it’s not too much of a problem?” Zelina asked the Wookiee politely.  Chewbacca growled an affirmative, and Luke started towards the back to get the spares, sighing and hanging his head.  Han thumped him briefly on the back as he passed.

“You’ll get out there some day, kid, don’t worry,” the smuggler said quietly before he went back outside with Luke’s mother to continue carrying in crates.

Sure, someday.  But how much longer did he have to wait?

* * *

_Step, step, parry._

_L_ _ow guard, shift, step, slash._

_Again, this time one handed._

The twin suns had set long ago, the heat of the desert cooling with their descent and making for an ideal temperature to do some lightsaber drills.  After yet another clash, however brief it was, with his mother over the one topic they had any form of serious arguments over, Luke figured he needed to take the time before she came home to try and cool down and work out some of his renewed frustrations.  Besides, she’d started him on the challenge of doing lightsaber forms as physical instinct, not Force assisted instinct, so his lightsaber combat instincts were ingrained in more than one way.  It was a little difficult to try and do the forms without thinking about it and without relying on the Force, but he felt he was starting to get the hang of it.

His father’s lightsaber hadn’t been heavy to him for years now, as it had been that first day he’d held it.  Now, it was almost a perfect extension of himself, though his mother had informed him that some day, if he made his own, they would be an even better fit.  Part of him liked the thought, but the other part didn’t want to relinquish one of the two physical links he had to his father.

His mother had meant it when she said his training would be hard work.  It wasn’t just training with the Force and lightsabers—she also put him through the wringer with physical training, some mental training, taught him about handling blasters and other weapons, using his environment to his benefit, observations, hand to hand—she wanted to make him as knowledgeable as possible before sending him out into the galaxy, it seemed.  Though most of her focus was on the Jedi part of things, and even then, she wasn’t always…the clearest.

Do as I say, not as I do didn’t even begin to cover it.  Trying to figure out where the line was had been a difficult task he’d eventually realized he was going to have to decide for himself.

Conflicting philosophies at work aside, he felt she’d trained him rather well.  He did feel ready to join the fight against the Empire.  Why she didn’t agree, why she kept them here when they could be out there making a difference, that was another matter.

_Step, shift, raise, sharp turn—_

Resistance met his lightsaber as he turned, and he had to work hard not to show his surprise lest he quickly receive a reprimand about not paying attention to his surroundings.  He’d been more focused on trying to get his lightsaber to move more instinctual without having to rely on the Force than he had been on his surroundings.  
His mothers deep violet blade hummed against his father’s clear blue, a stark contrast.  On instinct, Luke used a simple maneuver that would have disarmed someone who wasn’t holding their lightsaber properly or firmly, but simply batted aside his mother’s blade.

“I thought you were going to be at the cantina longer?” he asked, keeping his lightsaber on but humming at his side.  His mother had a history of ambush teaching him with lightsabers, so he’d learned to keep his guard up.  He knew she had enough control she would never actually hurt him, but he still liked to be ready for sudden advances she made.

“I was only there long enough to make sure the night shift had everything handled and things were going smoothly.”  She nodded towards his lightsaber.  “Show me what you’ve got.”

Luke held back a sigh, dropping into a defensive stance.  He knew what was coming.  Part of him had only wanted to do some drills to let out frustration.  Now she was giving him a quick skills test.  And considering she’d been paying particular attention to his footwork in their training sessions, he was already dividing his attention to pay more attention to his footwork than anything else.

Whether she sensed his reluctance or not, his mother’s lips twitched towards a smile before she jumped forward, violet blade slicing swiftly through the air.  Luke turned to stop it’s arc with his own blade, coming in to try and get closer in an attempt to knock her off balance as his blade slid along the length of hers, pushing back.  Zelina side stepped him, pulling back for a split second with a suddenness that almost had him losing his footing before he re-found it, twisting to stop her blade as it came at him again.  Back and forth they went, a dance of sidestepping and finding and keeping footwork, with Luke focused far more on how well he was planting his feet than the actual technique of his lightsaber attacks.

Suddenly, her blade deactivated and reactivated inside his defenses, something he almost missed because he’d been too focused on his blasted footwork.  She stopped just short of his neck, but the suddenness of the attack drew his attention away from his steps, and she managed to get a foot behind him, sweeping his legs out from underneath him in one quick motion, deactivating her blade so he didn’t get hurt on the way down.

Luke landed on his back with a thud and a soft groan, his mother looming over him.

“Much better than last time,” she quipped.  “You’re getting better at this non-Force reliant combat thing.  You’re still doing that thing were your stance goes wide, and you need to work on splitting your attention so you’re not focusing on just footwork or just the forms…but you’re doing much better,” his mother said patiently, holding out a hand and pulling Luke to his feet once he’d accepted it.

“Thanks,” he grunted.  “But did you really just come out here to knock me on my back?”

Zelina chuckled softly.  “No…no, I didn’t.  I said we were going to finish our conversation at the cantina, didn’t I?”

Luke felt his spirits drop considerably.  “I thought you’d made it pretty clear you didn’t have anything more to say about it.”

Zelina inclined her head towards an outcrop of rock that was near their home as an indicator he should follow her, hooking her lightsaber on her belt.  Luke frowned slightly as he followed her, wondering if she’d had the lightsaber on her when they’d gone to the cantina, or even earlier than that.  Did she have her second one on her, too?  And why had she worn it today?  Normally she only brought her lightsabers with her when she knew she might need it, so that she didn’t have the temptation of drawing it on instinct and giving them away.

That wasn’t a conversation for right now, though.  She wanted to talk about how badly he wanted to leave the planet, and if she was going to give him a chance to properly argue his case, he wanted to be prepared.

His mother sat down on the rock’s smooth surface right by the edge, legs curled and tucked to the side, one hand propping her up as she looked out over the expanse of Tatooine’s desert, waiting for him to join her.  They came up here to talk a lot, especially about the serious stuff.

In fact, this was where she’d told him the full story of what happened to his father.

His mother started speaking before he even finished sitting down.  “Luke, my not wanting us to leave the planet has nothing to do with whether or not I think you’re ready,” she said softly.  “In fact, I think you are ready.  I’ve taught you all I can without you getting any real hands on experience.  You need to get out there and learn for yourself if you’re going to grow, or if I’m going to see what you need to work on.  There’s only so much you can learn from the safety of the home before you have to get out into the thick of it.  Experience trumps everything.”

“Then why are we still here?” Luke asked desperately.  It was his constant question, one that her statement only made stronger.  If even she thought they were ready to leave…

“Because it’s not the same thing.  Luke…this isn’t going to be a small choice.  I know you’re eager to jump into the fray, but once you get there…trust me, that novelty shine wears off really fast, and you’re going to want to be getting back out, wondering when it will be over.  Try and enjoy a simpler life while you’ve got it.  As much as you want to go now, the Force hasn’t told me it’s time yet.  So we wait.  I’ll keep training you in what I can, and one day it will happen.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe we’re not supposed to wait?  Maybe we’re supposed to go out ourselves instead of hiding here doing nothing?”

“It has crossed my mind.  I’ve never been one for inaction.  But I trust the Force, and I know we’re supposed to wait.  Just…please, trust me on that, Luke?”

His mother looked at him, her gaze full of sincerity and a tiredness he was growing far too used to seeing in her gaze.  It had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the kind of life she’d lived.  He learned the toll it had taken on her a long time ago, even if she didn’t know it.

Slowly, Luke nodded, and Zelina looked back out over the desert.  A comfortable silence fell between them for several long minutes where Luke briefly wondered how long this answer to his question would keep him satisfied before it returned with a vengeance and he had to ask again.

“You know, I’ve been wearing my lightsaber every day recently.”

Luke glanced at his mother.  He wasn’t going to bring it up, so he certainly hadn’t expected her to mention it.  “Why?”

“A feeling,” she said softly, looking up at the stars above for several long moments, taking a deep breath of the air before she looked over at Luke.  “Be patient, Luke…you’ll know it’s time when you see it.  Right now, you just want it.”

With that, his mother rose to his feet, brushed the sand from her pants, and headed back inside, leaving Luke alone on the rock to mull over her words.


	6. Spark of Rebellion

Luke's mind was no longer on Tatooine's surface as he finished his chores on the Lars farm, his thoughts instead up among the stars. For once, it wasn't because he was wanting to break free of the planet and go out into the galaxy, but because of something he'd seen, and a feeling that wouldn't leave him alone. He was counting down the hours—now minutes, ideally—before he could leave the farm and take the landspeeder into town to go find his mother at the cantina. He wanted to tell her about the space battle he'd seen, however brief it had been, even though his friends at Tosche Station—if most of them could even be called friends—didn't believe him. She'd seen plenty of battles, and her cantina was a hub of information, so maybe she'd know more than he did about what had happened.

"Luke? Luke!"

Luke's attention snapped away from his thoughts at his Aunt's call, and he broke away from mechanically following his Uncle to go see what his Aunt wanted. He planted his foot at the edge of the hole looking down into the main courtyard, spotting his aunt in the center below.

"Luke, tell your Uncle if he gets a translator, be sure it speaks Bocce," his aunt called up to him.

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice, but I'll remind him."

Hurrying off to catch up to his Uncle as Owen perused the droids the Jawas were putting on sale, Luke relayed Aunt Beru's message moments before his Uncle chose a red R2 unit as one of his purchases. As his uncle continued examining the line up, Luke knelt in front of the red droid, checking it over to make sure it was in working order and nothing looked like it was on the verge of breaking down. As he was checking the unit's wheels for wear or jamming, he glanced over at the blue R2 unit sitting next to them, pausing in thought as he gazed at the droid for a reason he…couldn't quite explain.

Though he did know if it was his instincts telling him to look, then it had to be a prompting from the Force.

But why would it have him look at a little droid?

Clearing his throat, Luke went over to his uncle, who was sealing the deal on the red R2 and a golden protocol droid. "Uncle Owen," he interrupted, still a little hesitant about the spontaneousness of what he was asking but deciding to trust whatever it was the Force was trying to tell him. "What about getting that blue one instead?"

"The blue one?" his uncle asked, glancing back at the two R2 units. "I already agreed to get the red one."

The protocol droid leaned in to interject. "Excuse me, sirs, but that R2 unit is in prime condition, a real bargain."

Uncle Owen was looking at Luke suspiciously. "Why the blue one?"

Luke shrugged. "I've got a feeling," he said simply, perfectly aware that Uncle Owen didn't approve of all the _Force nonsense_ his mother put in his head. If it was up to Uncle Owen, Luke wouldn't be learning about any of that, and would be staying on Tatooine instead of being prepped to join the Rebellion. Thankfully, that decision had been up to Luke's mother, and not Uncle Owen.

Again, the protocol droid interjected.

"I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with that one, sir. He really is in first class condition. I've worked with him before."

"Sure," Owen cut off the protocol droid with a scowl, but nodded reluctantly to the Jawa salesman. "We'll take the blue one instead."

The R2 unit rolled over as soon as the restraints on its wheels were removed, the other Jawas starting to pack up the remaining droids and file them away into the sandcrawler while Owen paid the salesman for the two droids.

"Take these two over to the garage, I want them cleaned up before dinner," Owen told Luke, nodding to the two droids as he spoke. Luke felt his ire prick, and he immediately protested.

"But I was going to go help Mother at the cantina," Luke protested. He'd been getting ready to leave before the sandcrawler showed up—cleaning up the droids would mean he was here for at least another hour or so. At this rate, his mother would be coming back from work by the time he was on his way into town.

"I'm sure your mother would agree with me that you need to finish your share of the work here before you go for extra hours at the cantina," Owen returned firmly, and Luke had to hide a scowl, looking back at the two droids.

"All right, let's go," he muttered, ushering for the protocol droid and the R2 unit to follow him, guiding the way towards the garage.

* * *

"Thank the Maker. This oil bath is going to feel so good. I've got such a bad case of dust contamination, I can barely move."

Luke largely ignored the ramblings of the protocol droid as he chose to instead gaze at the R2 unit curiously, still puzzling over why he'd been prompted to convince his uncle to buy it instead of the other one. Maybe it was nothing more than the red one had some sort of issue with it…maybe it was something more.

Luke pushed away from the oil bath he'd just helped the protocol droid into, moving over to get tools to start cleaning up the R2 unit as he tuned back into what the protocol droid was saying. If he was going to get answers, it was probably going to be from the chattier of the two.

"I'm not even sure which planet I'm on," the droid was saying, prompting a light snort from Luke.

"Well, if there's a bright center of the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from."

"I see sir…"

Something squirmed uncomfortably inside Luke at the title, an odd laugh coming out of him at being addressed as 'sir.'

"Ah…you can call me Luke," he corrected.

"I see, Sir Luke."

That was even worse!

"No, just Luke," Luke corrected again, moving over to the R2 unit to start cleaning it up and make sure it really was in prime condition.

"Oh…" the protocol droid said thoughtfully, and Luke had a brief flash where he sincerely hoped the droid understood. It would probably take a bit more time and more corrections before the droid would just call him Luke. "And I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations. And this is my counterpart, Artoo-Detoo."

A shiver went down Luke's spine at the names for a brief moment, his work on cleaning up the R2 unit—Artoo—pausing at Artoo's dome.

Hadn't Artoo been what his father and mother had called the R2 unit that helped them on countless missions over the Clone Wars? An R2 unit that his biological mother had owned before his father started using it in the war? And Threepio had been the name of the protocol droid his father had made as a child, if Luke remembered right. His mother hadn't mentioned Threepio as much as Artoo, but he still remembered.

But there were billions of droids in the galaxy. There was no way these could be the exact same droids. Maybe stumbling across one in his lifetime he could have swallowed, but both? At the same time?

No, it had to be different droids, it had to be…though the Force had prompted him to get his uncle to buy Artoo instead of the red one…

"Are you alright, Master Luke?"

"Huh?" Luke asked automatically, brought out of his thoughts and back to the fact that the droids had just introduced themselves—or rather, Threepio had introduced himself and Artoo. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking. Your names sounded familiar, that's all."

Turning his attention back to Artoo, he studied it closer, fingers brushing absently at some of the markings on it's dome. "You've got a lot of carbon scoring here…Looks like you boys have seen a lot of action," Luke commented vaguely, hoping the comment might earn him some information in return.

"With all we've been through, sometimes I'm amazed we're in as good condition as we are," Threepio complained, with Luke paying closer attention to it's ramblings now that he had names and some interesting possible answers for why he'd been prompted by the Force. "What with the Rebellion and all."

It was like Artoo had shocked him Luke stood up so quickly, startling Threepio enough the protocol droid leaned back in surprise from the sudden movement. "You know of the Rebellion against the Empire?" Luke asked sharply.

This was quickly surpassing being a coincidence. He was pretty sure his heart rate was picking up.

A battle in space above their planet, droids with the same names as the droids from his family's past, droids that were part of the _Rebellion_ , his mother's comment that she'd had a feeling that caused her to carry her lightsabers on her recently…

It could be one giant leap in logic, or it could actually _be_ something.

"That's how we came to be in your service, if you take my meaning, sir," Threepio said politely. Luke's mind was racing. Maybe they'd been part of the battle above Tatooine—maybe they knew what had happened.

"Have you been in many battles?" Luke asked, trying not to be too obvious about his line of questioning.

"Several, I think. Actually, there's not much to tell. I'm not much more than an interpreter, and not very good at telling stories," Threepio told him, which brought Luke to the realization that while Threepio might have had easily obtained answers, he wasn't going to have the answers Luke needed. If Threepio couldn't even think of anything to tell him about Rebellion battles, if he was just a translator… "Well, not at making them interesting, anyway."

Luke sunk back down in front of Artoo, frustrated anew. Threepio wouldn't give him answers, no, but there was still Artoo. Maybe if he tried chatting up the little R2 unit with Threepio translating, he might get some of his questions answered. He was about to go back to cleaning the surface problems when he noticed something a little more interesting. Something metal had been wedged where it wasn't supposed to be, and Luke was curious to know what it was.

Picking up a larger instrument than the pick he'd been using to scrape at the grime and sand, Luke got started trying to wedge the metal fragment out, concentration centering on the foreign object even as he started trying to chat up Artoo.

"Well, my little friend…You've got something jammed in here real good. Were you on a star cruiser or a—"

His inquiry was cut short as the metal budged just enough to make Luke lose his balance without the metal coming free. At the same time, something seemed to shock him, and Luke leapt back on instinct, falling on his hands with a curse bubbling up in his throat.

Another voice, one he'd never heard before, interrupted that curse before Luke could voice it.

"Help me Zelina Du'ahn, you're my only hope."

Luke froze, following a beam of light that had suddenly appeared from Artoo to the holographic image of a beautiful young woman now materializing in the middle of the garage. The message repeated on a loop as Luke stared, chills going down his spine.

There was no way…

"What is this?" Luke asked almost shakily, pointing at the hologram as it repeated its message. A better question might have been when was this recorded, who is the woman, what's this about, is there more, but the only thing Luke could manage at that moment was the one question.

Artoo beeped innocently, rocking slightly in place. Whatever the little droid said, it apparently annoyed Threepio, who suddenly thwacked the droid on its dome.

"What is what? He asked you a question! What is that?" Threepio implored, pointing towards the hologram that was still repeating it's message.

"Help me Zelina Du'ahn, you're my only hope."

Zelina Du'ahn.

That was his mother's name. Her _real_ name.

Threepio was reiterating Artoo's answer, but Luke wasn't paying much attention anymore—his own mind was stringing together the answers

"Oh, he says it's nothing, sir. Merely a malfunction, old data. Pay it no mind."

There was no way he was going to ignore this. Here were two droids from the Rebellion going by the names Artoo and Threepio, carrying a message for help meant for his mother, when the Force had prompted him to have his uncle buy Artoo, and there had been a battle above Tatooine.

Someone—this woman—was in trouble.

She was calling on his mother for help.

This might be the sign that his mother had been waiting for, their sign to finally leave Tatooine and go out into the galaxy to _do_ something, to join the fight against the Empire.

"Who is she?" Luke asked suddenly, cutting off anything Threepio might have been saying, his gaze still fixated on the looping hologram.

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, sir. I think she was a passenger on our last voyage, a person of some importance, I believe. Our captain was attached to—"

That last voyage was probably that one above Tatooine. "Is there any more of this recording?" Luke asked seriously, finally tearing his eyes from the hologram to look at Artoo. Artoo trilled something that sounded either indignant or insulting. Whatever it was, it earned another thwack on the dome from Threepio.

"Behave yourself, Artoo, you're going to get us into trouble! It's all right, you can trust him, he's our new master!" Threepio tried to reason with the droid, who tootled reluctantly in response. "He says that he's the property of Zelina Du'ahn, a resident of these parts, and it's a private message for her. Quite frankly sir, I don't know what he's talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles, but…"

Luke tuned out Threepio once he started rambling again and kneeled down in front of Artoo almost as if in a daze, one hand now placed carefully on its dome. Could this be the very same droid..?

"Did you once know anyone by the name of Anakin Skywalker?" Luke asked carefully, staring at Artoo's photoreceptor like he was gazing into its eyes, holding his breath as he waited for Threepio's translation. Artoo gave a hesitant beep of question.

"He wants to know how you know that name, Master Luke," Threepio translated, and Luke felt his heart jump into his throat.

"Because Anakin Skywalker was my father—and Zelina Du'ahn's my mother. I was about to go see her before the Jawas came by."

The announcement made Artoo break out into a flurry of beeps and whistles, waddling back and forth in the process.

"Are you quite certain, Master Luke? _I'm_ not even sure what he's on about, it has to be some sort of mistake—"

Luke was already moving, setting down his cleaning supplies and scrambling over to the chrono to see what time it was. "I don't know if there's any point in leaving, now. She's probably already on her way back from the cantina, or getting ready to leave…"

He was going to have to wait until his mother came home to share the news. If he left now, he'd miss her and would have to double back. He doubted Artoo would play the message for Luke, if it was the same Artoo from his mother's stories. Artoo had said the message was a private one for Zelina Du'ahn, so he'd probably play it only for his mother. Which meant he couldn't peek at the message ahead of time, either.

"Luke? Luke?" Aunt Beru suddenly called from the main courtyard. It was probably time for dinner, too, and no matter what important message these droids had, his aunt and uncle weren't about to let him wiggle out of dinner.

"All right, I'll be right there, Aunt Beru!" Luke called back, hesitating and gazing at the two droids. "My mother will be home soon. As soon as she gets here, I'll bring her back here and you can play the message for her, all right? Just…stay here, in the meantime."

Artoo beeped impatiently at Luke, who looked to Threepio for a translation. "He says he won't be able to deliver the message until his restraining bolt is removed, that it's preventing him from accessing the full message."

Luke eyed the little droid suspiciously, well-informed from his mother's stories about how tricky and mischievous Artoo could be. "Then I'll make sure to take it off when she gets here," he assured Threepio, hearing his aunt's insistent call return. "She'll be here," he finished firmly before rushing out of the garage and trying to reign in his excitement.

Best not to tip his aunt and uncle off that there were rebellious things happening in the garage until his mother was here to back him up.

* * *

Zelina was justifiably on edge as she made her way to the Lars homestead to pick up Luke, having left Benon in charge for the rest of the night so that she could retreat to their home and try to calm down so she didn't do anything rash.

The Empire was on Tatooine. It wasn't a small presence, either—there were stormtroopers everywhere, and a blockade above the planet. It was making Zelina jumpy, her lightsabers suddenly heavier on her person as she sincerely hoped that the stormtroopers weren't about to cross her and Luke's path. Her mind raced to think of any way the Empire could have learned of their existence, but nothing came to mind. Besides, if they'd come to eradicate the two Jedi on the planet, they would have sent someone subtle, and probably someone with the Force, not an entire parade of stormtroopers.

Even if it didn't have anything to do with her and Luke, something was going on, and it bothered Zelina that she didn't know what it was. She was going to have to talk to Luke, make sure the young man was on his toes, and was keeping armed, just in case…

Leaving her speeder parked outside the Lars home since she was just going to pick up Luke and head home, Zelina made her way into the home, calling out so no one would think she was an unwelcome intruder.

"Luke? Beru? Owen? It's me."

To her surprise, she heard a burst of action suddenly erupt from the kitchen, almost like someone was scrambling to exit in a hurry. Considering how on edge she already was, Zelina reached towards her hidden lightsabers, half expecting trouble, but stopping herself when she felt no sense of danger. The burst of action was followed by some disgruntled exclamations and rushed apologies before Luke suddenly appeared at the base of the stairs before Zelina could even make it down into the main courtyard.

"Mother! Finally, I've been—come on, I have to show you something!" Luke said, sounding out of breath from excitement—if it had been from the burst of activity she would have been worried, considering she kept the young man on a vigorous exercise routine so he would be in peak Jedi shape. He took the steps two at a time as he spoke, grabbing her wrist when he reached her to pull her in the opposite direction.

"Luke, what are you rambling about?" Zelina asked in surprise, thrown off by his unbridled enthusiasm, especially since she could sense undercurrents of seriousness that simply hadn't breached past his excitement.

"Earlier today, while I was helping fix some of the vaporators, I saw a space battle above Tatooine," Luke started to explain, the seriousness starting to leak into his tone as he practically dragged her towards the garage. "I was going to head to the cantina after I was done helping here to ask if you'd heard anything about it, but Uncle Owen wanted me to clean up the droids he bought from the Jawas first and, well…"

Before Zelina could inquire about the space battle—something that riled her uneasiness and made her wonder if it had anything to do with the Empire's sudden strong presence—and ask him what two new droids had to do with anything, they entered the garage, with Luke releasing her so he could turn on the light.

Zelina nearly had a heart attack in the doorway.

Her brain rushed to rationalize what she was seeing, telling her that with all the billions upon billions of droids in the galaxy, there was no possible way these were the exact same droids standing in the garage of the Lars homestead now…

The gold-plated protocol droid stepped forward, cutting off the little blue and white R2 astromech droid that had tried to roll forward when she entered the room. "Hello, I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations, and this is my counterpart, Artoo-Detoo."

Some logical part of her brain thought of how Threepio's memory had been wiped that day they'd all gone their separate ways, so he wouldn't recognize her. But Artoo…

"Artoo…is that really you, buddy?" Zelina asked in a bare whisper, kneeling down as the astromech wheeled confidently up to her, twittering excitedly in a wide range of electronic beeps and whistles as he nudged her. It was all the answer she needed, feeling her throat suddenly close and tears starting to prick her eyes.

_We got 'em, Artoo._

_Have we heard anything from Artoo_ or _Obi-Wan?_

_Thanks, Artoo!_

_It won't take us, Master, right Artooy?_

_Lead the way, Artoo!_

_Artoo, go back, I need you to stay with the ship._

_Stop—Stop! Artoo, we need to be going_ up _!_

_No loose wire jokes._

_Did I say anything?_

_He's trying._

_I didn't say anything!_

She was going to start crying, she was right on the brink as all the memories of the past suddenly rushed through her, memories of a time when things had been happy, when Anakin had been alive, before this whole…mess happened.

Zelina placed a gentle hand on Artoo's dome, giving the droid a shaky smile as he tootled softly at her. "It's so good to see you again, Artoo. I didn't think I _would_ see you again…"

Artoo beeped sadly at her, and Zelina made a conscious effort to stop the tears burning in her eyes before they could fall, clearing her throat and glancing at Threepio. "Let me guess…same old Threepio?"

Artoo beeped something that sounded suspiciously smug, and Threepio immediately reacted with great offense. "I am not a mindless pile of tin, you rusty bucket of shrapnel!"

Yup, it was the same Threepio. The very same one Anakin had built with his own two hands when they were children. That Padme had owned and upgraded…

Zelina frowned, reaching up to get the restraining bolts off of Artoo and Threepio. "These don't belong on you two…" she mumbled, trying not to think of the rant she would have heard if Anakin had been alive to see restraining bolts on his two droids, especially Artoo. As she removed the bolts, she asked the question that was gnawing at her mind.

"How in the name of the Force did you two end up here? _Both_ of you, for that matter," Zelina commented. It was at that moment Luke stepped forward, reminding Zelina of his presence. He must have been giving her a moment to have her much needed reunion. Even now, he looked hesitant to speak up, like he was worried he was interrupting too soon.

"It's like I said earlier, Uncle Owen bought them from the Jawas today. They said they'd been in a space battle with the Rebellion, and I think they were talking about the same one I saw earlier. Artoo's apparently carrying an important message for you."

"He's what?" Zelina asked sharply, suddenly turning her full attention back to the little astromech droid. Artoo beeped in a far more serious tone, rolling back and positioning himself so he was facing the middle of the garage. Zelina shuffled off to the side, finding a ledge to sit on facing the center of the room. "Well, go on, Artoo—if it's serious you should probably go ahead and show me now."

Artoo whirled in confirmation, and Zelina had the briefest moment where she was able to wonder if the droids had something to do with the sudden Imperial presence on Tatooine before the hologram flickered to life in the middle of the room.

A young woman, roughly Luke's age with a strong resemblance to Padme, appeared before them and began to speak.

"General Du'ahn. Years ago you served the people of the galaxy during the Clone Wars. Now we beg you to help in the struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father, Bail Organa's request to you in person—"

Zelina felt a jolt go through her. Bail? This was Leia! This was Anakin's daughter, Luke's twin, the other Skywalker! Zelina wanted to take a moment to get a good look, but the message continued, and she didn't dare lose focus long enough to miss something important.

"But my ship has fallen under attack, and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed."

That was the space battle Luke must have seen.

 _Force_ , Zelina thought, suddenly feeling an overpowering sickness sweep over her. _The Empire has Leia._

"I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You _must_ see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Zelina Du'ahn, you're my only hope."

Leia looked away as if something had disturbed her, bent over and stretched out to something unseen, and the message ended, leaving Zelina staring at the space where Leia had been a few moments prior with a storm of emotions raging inside her.

Her predominant thought was _the Empire has Leia_ , her concern for the other of the two Skywalker twins rocketing to the front of her conscious. Forcing herself to calm down and take several deep breaths, she examined the information that had been placed in front of her in a matter of minutes, so she could decide what to do next.

Yes, the Empire had Leia, but Zelina had no idea where Leia herself was. She couldn't help Leia until she had a direction, or at least a starting point. Leia was the highest on her priority list at the moment, but there was nothing she could do…yet. Leia's message, however, was asking her to take something Artoo was carrying to the Rebellion, and asking—or rather, begging—for her help in the war. If Leia's message wasn't a clear sign it was time for Zelina and Luke to leave Tatooine…well, they weren't about to get a sign any clearer than this. Which meant she needed to keep these two droids in one piece—already something that would have been a goal, considering they had been Anakin's droids—and head to Alderaan. After she delivered whatever Artoo was carrying, Bail would be able to fill her in, perhaps point her to Obi-Wan, Satine, and Pria, and she could go from there. Maybe she'd get a lead on where Leia was being kept in the process.

All this also meant that the Empire was here for these two droids, which had been purchased by Beru and Owen, putting them directly in the line of fire.

It also meant her and Luke needed to get off this planet as soon as possible…and her job protecting Luke was about to become that much harder.

He was finally going to be stepping into the picture, and that terrified her. She could only hope she'd trained him well enough, though his temperament made her think she might have neglected a rather important part of his Jedi training. Or perhaps the temperament would come with more experience.

She also needed to stop sitting here mulling this all over and get into action.

Zelina snapped out of her thoughts, looking at Luke, who was standing patiently off to the side, waiting for his mother to speak once she finished processing her thoughts. "We're leaving. As soon as possible."

Luke immediately perked up as Zelina rose to her feet. "We are? We're going to help the Rebellion?"

Zelina reached out and placed a heavy hand on Luke's shoulder, locking gazes with him to make sure he understood the seriousness of what she was about to say. "That's not something to get excited about, Luke. Owen and Beru are in danger now because they bought these droids, the Empire will come here looking for them," she said seriously, hoping that she could use this as an opportunity to ground Luke a little more before they jumped into the fray. Luke mellowed at the news, and Zelina continued once she was sure she had his attention. "I know you've wanted to leave Tatooine to _really_ be a Jedi ever since I started training you, but we're still fleeing the Empire when we leave the planet. After this, nothing's going to be the same, and even though I've trained you for years, you still lack experience. I'm going to need you to listen to everything I say, all right? This isn't training anymore, this is real, and you could get hurt or killed. Do you understand?"

Luke nodded, a spark of fire lighting in his eyes as he drew himself up. "I'm ready, I promise."

Zelina studied him carefully. "No one's ever really ready, Luke. They just think they are," she said softly. "Now I want you to pack these droids up into my speeder outside. I'm going to talk to Beru and Owen, then we're going home. We're going to get what we need, and we're going to leave. We cannot be at that house by the time dawn comes."

Luke suddenly looked uncomfortable. "We're going to be traveling at night? But the Sand People—"

"Are now the least of our worries. The Empire is going to be tearing Tatooine apart looking for these droids. We have to get out now, while we're still ahead of them. Now go on, we'll talk more at the house. Right now we need to get Beru and Owen out of the line of fire."

Luke nodded much slower this time, turning towards the droids. "All right you two, we're going outside."

"I'll be right behind you," Zelina told him, already moving to head back towards the main part of the house, hoping Owen and Beru were both still in the dining room.

She was acting faster than her brain could catch up with the events that were happening, which was partially a good thing. It meant she might actually be acting fast enough they could get off Tatooine without having a run in with the Empire. She could take the time to process later, when they weren't running on borrowed time. She didn't think their luck went far enough to avoid a scrape with the Empire of some kind, but it was nice to hope for a smooth exit while simultaneously planning for things to go wrong. At least she already had the perfect candidate for their way off the planet.

Owen and Beru were in fact still in the dining room area, the married couple looking up as Zelina appeared around the corner with all the seriousness of what was happening clearly displayed on her face. Beru spoke up first, immediately picking up on the other woman's concern.

"What's going on? Luke bolted out of here as soon as he heard you."

"We're leaving," Zelina said bluntly, coming to a stop in the doorway. "I don't just mean headed home, I mean leaving Tatooine."

"Why?" Owen exclaimed, rising from his seat as if preparing for a confrontation.

"Those droids you bought today? They came from the Rebellion and are carrying some kind of information the Empire wants very badly to keep out of Rebellion hands. There's a full scale Imperial occupation going on in the towns right now," Zelina explained, speaking over Owen's curse as Beru hid her shocked expression behind a hand. "On the bright side, the droids were trying to get that information to me, so it's a good thing they ended up here. Luke and I are going to take them to the Rebellion, ideally tonight, first thing in the morning at the latest. The longer we stay on the planet, the more dangerous it will be."

"You really are going to drag that boy into the middle of a war, aren't you?" Owen asked in disbelief. "You should leave him with us, leave him here on Tatooine where he'll be safe and out of harm's way—"

"That's not who Luke is, Owen," Zelina said firmly, locking gazes with the man. "I know you just want to keep him safe, but you can't keep him locked up on this planet. Not only is he meant for more, but he wants to _do_ more. He wants to help people. He's old enough to take care of himself, and I've been training him to take care of himself all these years. Not to mention, I swore I'd look after him—I'm not about to leave him behind. Besides…"

Zelina looked back, making sure Luke wasn't headed their way or anywhere within earshot before she spoke in a much softer voice. "His sister was the one who sent the information. And she's most likely been taken by the Empire. I swore to Anakin I'd take care of his family, and that means both the twins. Luke's my primary concern, but I won't ignore Leia needing my help as well. We have to go."

"What about us?" Beru asked from where she still sat at the dining room table. "If the Empire finds out we bought the droids—"

"Don't worry about that," Zelina soothed. "When they come asking about the droids, tell them you bought the protocol droid to help me because I'm a working single mother, and tell them Luke wants to be a pilot, so you bought him the astromech. Cooperate, be the innocent, helpful civilians. Tell them where we live. Then it won't be your fault. You bought the droids and immediately passed them on, you have no idea what was in them or that they were important to the Empire, they were simply scavenged droids you bought from Jawas for your relatives."

"You want us to willingly give you away?" Owen asked incredulously. At that moment, Luke rushed into the courtyard.

"I've got them secured in the speeder—we're ready to head out," Luke informed her.

Zelina gave Owen a reassuring smile. "We'll already be long gone by the time the Empire reaches our place. We're already ten steps ahead of them." Zelina looked back at Luke, giving him a pointed look. "Luke, you should say your goodbyes. Chances are we won't be back here for a long, long time."

Luke blinked, looked at his distressed looking Aunt and Uncle, and hesitantly made his way over, giving Beru a strong hug first.

He was lucky they had enough of a heads up he was getting the chance to say goodbye. If this had gone any other way, there might not have been any goodbyes.

Beru said something too quiet for Zelina to hear, though she wasn't trying to eavesdrop anyway, before Luke pulled away. He stood awkwardly in front of his Uncle Owen before the man known for his gruff demeanor allowed a brief hug.

"You take care of yourself, all right? Don't do anything stupid…don't get yourself killed," Owen said gruffly as he released Luke.

"I'll be all right," Luke assured him, carefully pulling away and heading towards the door. Zelina turned to follow him before Owen called out, causing her to pause for a brief moment and look back.

"You take care of him, all right?"

Zelina looked back at the man she'd had plenty of disagreements with over the years simply because they had different views on how to protect Luke, fully aware that despite all those disagreements…they both just wanted to see Luke safe.

"You know I'm not about to let anything happen to him," she said in reply, turning back around and placing a hand on Luke's back briefly as she urged him to quickly head outside.


	7. Flight

Zelina stood alone in her room at the house, the few things she was actually going to take with her strewn across her bed.  Luke was in his room hopefully doing something similar and getting ready to leave as well.  After nearly twenty years living here, Zelina felt the stirrings of bitterness that they were going to have to leave, even if Tatooine was high on her most despised planets.  It had still been home…more than once.  How many times was she going to have to have to flee from this planet, though?

 _At least one more time_ , she couldn’t help but think, turning her attention back to pulling on her sturdy pair of boots.  She made sure her breastplate was in place before she picked up the wrap she always kept somewhere on her person in case she was caught in a sandstorm.  She wrapped it around her chest, from shoulder to the opposite hip, wrapped it around her waist, did the same with the other shoulder, wrapped around her waist, and let the rest remain hanging in the back.  Next came her belt, complete with her thigh holster for her blaster.  Once that was securely in place, she clipped her lightsabers to their respective sides and slipped her vambraces onto her arms, making sure the edges of the armor weren’t bothering her elbows before grabbing her cloak off of the bed and draping it over her arm for the time being.

Kneeling down, Zelina uncovered her small lockbox she kept buried in the center of her room, opening it up to reveal the contents within.  She gathered up the holochips and the holocrons, all the teaching materials she’d been able to study or use for Luke’s training over the years, and put them in the same bag she’d brought them to Tatooine in, deciding it was best to preserve the knowledge, especially since Luke still had things to learn.  She also had a stash of Imperial Credits in the lockbox, meant for a situation just like this in case she didn’t have time or enough security to drain her account.

After emptying the lockbox, she reached up and grabbed her heavily modified and very illegal DC-17 blaster.  Thank the Force for Han’s smuggling skills, trips, and contacts.  She kept it here so that she would still have it when they left the planet, since she didn’t want to run the risk of it getting confiscated or destroyed if she brought it every day to the cantina.

 _And now_ , she thought smugly, securing the blaster in her thigh holster, _I’m finally going to be able to use it outside of basic practice._

After so long away from war, she hoped she was still fit for the front lines.  She was twice as old as she’d been when the Clone Wars ended…

“Mother?  Are you ready?”

Zelina looked over her shoulder to see Luke standing packed and ready.  He was holding a poncho bunched up in his hand, about to put it on once he had a confirmation from Zelina.  He wasn’t wearing anything a Tatooine native would wear anymore, but rather something Zelina had bought him with the intent that it would be worn after they left.  It was a long sleeved black button up, but made of a thinner material—enough to keep him warmer in space and provide some protection against cooler climates on other planets without tormenting him too much in the Tatooine heat, however long they stayed on the planet.  Knowing him, he probably had a tank top underneath in case he got too hot.  He also had the sturdy boots, light brown pants, a belt that had a holster complete with a blaster and his father’s lightsaber already clipped to his side…

“Almost.  Just want to check a few things before we leave,” she murmured, running through the pockets on her belt and making sure she had everything.

Comlink, grappling hook, a small glowrod, lightsaber repair kit, a pocket with a few credits stashed inside, extra power packs for her blaster…

She only kept some of what used to be standard on a Jedi’s utility belt, but this wasn’t the same galaxy anymore.  She’d tailored her utility belt to what she hoped was what she would need the most.

One hand reaching up to graze her mother’s necklace—still there, hidden under her breastplate, even after all these years—she nodded to Luke, who immediately pulled on the poncho and adjusted it so it hid his lightsaber.  Zelina pulled on her cloak, keeping the hood down for the moment as she made her way for the exit.

“Do you have everything?”

“Everything I need.”

Zelina paused at something in his voice, turning to look at him halfway up the steps out of their home.  She could still see it, for the most part—it hadn’t entirely disappeared.

She used to train him in the central chamber, before they’d moved to the canyon as his training grew more complex.  She’d told him so many stories about his family in his room, in the living room…She raised him here.  This was where he grew up.  And it hadn’t had the negative ties Zelina and Anakin had when they grew up—he’d grown up comfortable, happy, loved…even if he didn’t have his real parents, even if he had to keep part of him secret.  Plus…this is where she’d grown to love him.

It was their home, but it couldn’t be home any longer.

Zelina reached out and put a hand on his arm, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.  “We have to go now.  While we’re still ahead.  We have what matters.”

Luke nodded, and the two of them hustled their way up the steps and to the speeder waiting for them outside, complete with two rebel droids straight out of Zelina’s past.

* * *

“Ameenah, I don’t care if he’s asleep or in a meeting with Jabba the Hutt, I need to speak with Solo now,” Zelina told the Trianii woman in a hushed tone at the back of the cantina, sticking to the shadows with Luke close by her side.  “Tell him I need a favor from him, one that will wipe clean any debt he has to me and pay him well in the process.”

“If you’re in some kind of trouble, Zel, I’ll help for free,” Ameenah said with a frown, studying Zelina and Luke’s clothes.  They did look like they were dressed not only to leave but ready for a fight, Zelina especially.

“It’s not the kind of trouble you can solve with a hit, I’m afraid,” Zelina said with a wry smile.  “It’s the kind that involves getting smuggled off planet.”

Zelina reached out and gently touched the other woman’s shoulder, even if she had to reach a bit to get her hand up there.  “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.  Maybe some day we’ll run into each other again.  But right now…I need Solo, so we can leave.”

The woman huffed.  “If I get my arms ripped off for waking up a Wookiee in the middle of the night—”

“Just don’t wake up the Wookiee—wake up the human,” Zelina suggested smugly.

Ameenah unfolded her arms, pushing away from the wall.  “I’ll find him.  Just don’t get yourselves killed in the meantime.”

Zelina nodded.  “We’ll meet him here,” Zelina told Ameenah as she left, turning back to Luke once Ameenah’s tail flicked out of sight.  “I don’t want to stay in one place too long.  We’ll sell the speeder while we’re waiting for Han, and drain our accounts if we get the chance.”

“I thought the material wasn’t something a Jedi concerned himself with?” Luke asked pointedly, arching a brow.

“No, he doesn’t, unless he’s about to get launched into a war and might need some funds to get, oh, I don’t know, some armor, rations, transportation, weapons or weapon parts, a bed for the night—”

“I get it,” Luke said with a roll of his eyes, following Zelina as she led them back out of the cantina.

“Don’t worry, I’ll resist the urge to spend it all on armorweave to wrap you in like a protective bubble…Maybe I’ll use some of it to get you a nice armorweave shirt or something.”

“Mother!”

* * *

Several thousand credits richer but slightly jumpier, Zelina and Luke returned to the cantina after selling Luke’s speeder first and emptying the accounts second.  If any Imperials were looking for that sort of activity as a red flag someone was going to try and run, she wanted it to be the last thing she did so it didn’t cut them short of time.

Besides, they needed the credits in case Han needed some incentive to take a dangerous job like this.  Being partially paid up front always helped.

Those were the answers his mother gave him when he asked, anyway.

With the droids hiding in the back room, all that remained was Han and Chewbacca’s arrival.  Luke was sitting undisturbed in a back booth while his mother spoke quietly with Benon at the bar—sorting out some last minute cantina issues before she left so the place didn’t immediately go to the Void, from what he’d gathered.

Luke shifted uncomfortably with the three layers he wore, resisting the urge to wipe the sweat gathering along his hairline, knowing his mother had a perfectly good reason for having him wear so many layers but still disliking how uncomfortable he was at the moment.  Sure, he’d probably be grateful come colder temperatures, and he only needed the poncho long enough to hide his weapons, but it still bothered him _now_.

At least the patrons at his mother’s cantina knew better than to mess with him, so he didn’t have to worry about being bothered while he tried to lay low, as his mother had instructed.  Then again, _why_ they knew better than to mess with him still sent a small chill down his spine.

It had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with what happened to the slaver who’d once tried to snag him in the bustle of the cantina not too long after Han signed on to run shipments for his mother every now and then.  It was one of the very few times his mother had scared him, and her anger hadn’t even been directed at him.  He hadn’t even seen it all because she had Ameenah remove him from the cantina until Zelina came to get him herself.

Her ferocity could be terrifying, and was in direct contrast to everything she taught him about the Jedi.

Luke looked up as a Wookiee suddenly towered above the crowd of late night patrons, the familiar figure of Han Solo standing just in front of him.  After a few moments, they seemed to pick Luke out of the crowd and made their way over, Chewbacca sliding into the booth first with Han situating himself on the edge.  “All right, Kid, what’s so important I just got drug out of bed in the middle of the night?” Han griped.

As Han spoke, Luke reached out to his mother’s presence in the Force and gave her a gentle nudge to get her attention.  “My mother’s taking pretty firm control of everything going on, so I’ll leave the explaining to her,” Luke said with a nod as Zelina abruptly wrapped up her conversation with Benon, pushing away from the bar and heading towards where the others sat.  Luke scooted to the side so his mother could join them, watching as Han’s eyebrows rose at the sight of Zelina’s battle-ready gear.

“Sorry for waking you, Solo, but this is important,” Zelina said in a low tone, folding her hands on top of the table.  Considering she’d been keeping at least one hand by a weapon all night, it was an interesting choice.  Maybe she was trying to assure Han there wasn’t any funny business going on.

“I’m starting to get that,” Han said sarcastically, nodding towards Zelina’s armor.  “Ameenah said something about a job when she barged into our room?”

Luke tried to stifle a snort of laughter at the mental image of the Trianii woman bursting into the room and scaring Han Solo awake, though didn’t entirely succeed in hiding his mirth, considering the disgruntled look the smuggler sent his way.

“We need smuggled off the planet—as soon as possible,” Zelina said, instantly drawing Han’s attention back to her.  Han seemed to hesitate for a moment.

“For a quick trip, or—”

“It’s a one way trip,” Zelina said, cutting him off.  “To Alderaan.”

“Did you two find yourself in some kind of trouble?” Han asked in concern as he glanced between Zelina and Luke.

“The Imperial kind.  It’s probably best if you don’t know more than that if you want to avoid getting too tangled in our problems,” Zelina said with surprising patience.  “As long as you get us off this planet past the Imperials, I don’t care if I have to cram myself into a crate, I’ll do it.”

 _I mind_ , Luke couldn’t help but think.

“Be careful what you wish for, I don’t think you’d really appreciate being in a crate for hours,” Han warned.

Zelina shrugged.  “I’ve done it before.”  Han gave her a strange look, but she continued before he could ask what she was talking about.  “It will be me, Luke, and two droids.  We can give you five thousand when we leave, and another fifteen when we arrive.

Han’s eyes widened.  “Twenty thousand?”

Zelina nodded.  “The first five will definitely be in Imperial Credits, though I can’t guarantee the currency of the fifteen.  But you’ll still be paid enough to get you out of trouble for that dropped spice shipment with Jabba, if I’m correct?”

Something tingled down the back of Luke’s spine, and he turned instinctively towards the front of the cantina.  A pair of stormtroopers had entered the establishment, and were making their way to Benon at the counter.

“Mother…” he said quietly, gaze remaining trained on the stormtroopers.

“I see them,” she murmured back.  “What do you say, Solo—sound like a deal?”

“It’s not a bad deal at all,” Han agreed, gaze flickering towards the stormtroopers they’d been muttering about.  “The Falcon’s in docking bay seven at the local space port.  We have a few repairs that need done before we can leave, so the earliest we can leave is dawn.  Are you two going to be all right until then?”

“Just fine,” Zelina answered before Luke’s uneasy look could even finish playing across his face.  He glanced at his mother, worried she might be acting a little cocky.

Or maybe he just needed to have a little more faith.

His mother was already getting up, pulling her hood up to hide her face.  “We’ll see you at dawn,” she assured Han, touching Luke’s shoulder to make sure he was keeping right behind her as she led them through the cantina towards the back, away from the stormtroopers.  Luke caught a glimpse of Ameenah covering their flight out the back from the stormtroopers before the main room of the cantina disappeared from view.

Once in the back, Zelina only paused long enough to snatch a canteen off the rack and fill it with water, calling the droids back to their side in the process.  She hardly waited for the canteen to be full before she ushered the group out the door and they disappeared into the dark back alleys of town.

* * *

“Are you sure we’re not going to be noticed out here?” Luke asked as he surveyed the sand dunes around him and the town they’d left behind in the distance.

“Until dawn, if we’re careful,” Zelina said quietly, undoing her cloak and gesturing for the droids to come over to her.  “We won’t be able to do anything that would draw too much attention, so no fire, and we’ll have to cover the droids.  We might want to stay close together--if we do that we might be mistaken for a rock formation from a distance if someone does manage to notice us.  I’ll need your poncho for that, by the way.”

Luke handed her the poncho without question, glad to be rid of the extra layer and standing in the middle of their small group as he waited for further instructions.  Zelina kept her attention on the droids for the time being.

“You two might want to go into standby mode—we’re not going to be doing anything until a little before dawn,” she told them, Artoo giving a small beep in agreement while Threepio muttered something about less than ideal conditions before also powering down.  Once the droids were on standby, Zelina threw the poncho over little Artoo, situating it so his dome was covered before throwing her cloak over Threepio and making sure he was also covered, tying the cloak at the bottom to keep it from billowing wildly if any winds picked up.  Once that was done, she turned her attention back to Luke.

“Go ahead and get some rest, Luke.  You’re probably going to need it,” Zelina told him softly as she moved closer, getting down on her knees to find a comfortable position she could be in for hours at a time.  She caught him looking doubtfully at the ground and had to stifle a smile.  “We’re probably going to be sleeping on the ground more often than you’d like to believe once we’re with the Rebellion.  Think of this as practice,” she suggested.

Luke sighed, but thankfully she didn’t get any complaints from him.  “I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” he murmured, getting down on the ground and attempting to pillow his head on his arm.  She would have offered him her cloak as a blanket and suggested he use the poncho for a pillow, but they needed them to hide the droids for now.

“If you feel up to it, I can wake you for the second watch,” Zelina suggested casually.

“I can do that,” he answered without hesitation.  Zelina nodded.

“I’ll wake you when it’s time.  For now, try to sleep.”

Luke squirmed to try and get situated, and Zelina turned her attention away from the young man, turning it inward, instead.  Now was as good a time as any to take a few moments to meditate on what was happening and what she needed to do.  It was the best way to pass the time, and would help deepen her connection to the Force in case they caught any attention, though she didn’t think they would.  Not Imperial, anyway—there was always the risk of Tusken Raiders.

Zelina let out a long breath, gently easing herself into the ebb and flow of the Force, allowing herself to sink far deeper into its eddies than she had in a long time, partially because, since they were about to burst onto the galactic stage, she wasn’t too worried about causing any ripples in the Force.  It wasn’t like she’d still be on the planet these ripples came from if anyone sensed them and decided to investigate.

The Force had changed after the deaths of all the Jedi during the Purge, which she now realized was part of the reason she’d fumbled with it when she’d first woken up from her injuries, and for some time afterward as she tried to readjust to the new feel of a dark-side dominated Force energy in the galaxy.  Once she adjusted, her abilities came easier once again.

For a brief moment, Zelina took the time to find some comfort in Luke’s bright presence so close to her own, something she’d done far more than she wanted to admit.  For years, he’d been the only other Force sensitive close to her, and sometimes, she just needed the comfort of being reminded she wasn’t the only one, even if the only Force sensitive near her was half her age.

Tearing her attention away from Luke, Zelina turned her attention to the Force itself, a small frown gracing her features as she decided to turn to it for answers, and to get a sense of the path they were currently on.  She didn’t go into the search with specific questions, but rather opened herself up to receive answers to anything she might have swimming around in her subconscious--maybe there was a question she wasn’t even aware she needed to ask yet.

For some time she couldn’t quite measure while she was so deep in the Force, Zelina didn’t find any kind of direction, answer, or feeling, other than the peace that tended to come with such a deep immersion and meditation.  She didn’t mind--sometimes when she went to the Force for guidance that’s all she got, and all she ended up needing.  Sometimes the questions she wanted answered only needed her to have a bit more clarity of thought, not direct intervention.  Part of her hoped this particular session wasn’t one of those, because they were diving headfirst into quite the uncertain situation.

Finally, she got a trickle of something different.  Without hesitation, Zelina followed it, and did her best to try and understand what she felt as a result.

Darkness--there was a disturbing amount of darkness waiting for them, that much was clear.  But she could have guessed as much.  Both herself, and Anakin’s son joining the fight against the Empire?  That was bound to draw Palpatine’s attention, and if that didn’t draw his attention, she’d assume he’d gone soft in the head after all these years.

Very unlikely.

She could sense something else, too...it was familiar, but it had been so long since she’d sensed this it took her a moment to realize she was getting the sense of war that she’d grown so accustomed to during the Clone Wars.  Again, something she expected going forward.  She expected to sense everything that came with a war lying before them.  Terror, adrenaline, danger...loss...

And a time to stay the blade rather than strike.

That last one made Zelina pause out of curiosity, but prodding the thought didn’t give her anything more, so she left it alone, for now.  Surely when such a moment came, the Force would be a lot clearer on the subject.

She also sensed great challenges--great personal challenges--ahead for both herself and Luke.  They were going to be tested during this war, both with their relationships and their own personal limits.  She hoped she’d prepared Luke enough that he would overcome those challenges, but that, too would be an answer to come with time.

She didn’t bother looking for a sense of their own fates--knowing too much of the future could be dangerous, and there were far too many choices that lay ahead of them that would determine what happened to them.

She also sensed that her own path might soon become a lonely one.  That...that in particular worried her, considering she was supposed to be taking care of Luke still.  Again, any prodding towards that sense came up empty, and she was only left with the sense of loneliness in her future.

Troubled, but not deterred, Zelina brought her attention to a lighter meditation, one that would allow her to keep a hyper-aware sense of her surroundings until it was time to wake Luke and let him take the next watch.

Hours seemed to bleed away effortlessly as Zelina spent the time immersed in the Force, glad that she hadn’t sensed anything turn its attention towards them in that time.  Eventually she got the sense that Luke had been asleep more than half the night, and it was time to wake him to let him take over.

Quietly, Zelina got to her feet, taking a moment to drink some of the water in the canteen before shuffling over to where Luke was lying sprawled on the sand, apparently having fallen asleep despite his earlier reservations.  She kneeled down beside him, placing a gentle hand on his back, giving him a gentle kiss on the head.  “Luke...Luke, it’s time to wake up.”

A low hum resonated in his chest before his eyes opened, a bleary glaze over his eyes signaling he wasn’t entirely awake.

“It’s your turn to take the watch,” Zelina told him softly, a part of her wondering if she should just stay up the whole night.  Some part of her told her that wasn’t the best idea, however, so she decided to stick with waking him up.  She was already halfway there, anyway.

Luke mumbled something unintelligible, but started to get up, prompting Zelina to move out of his way and see if he would get up on his own.  After some stretches, and a few times rubbing his eyes, Luke got to his feet, taking the canteen Zelina offered him and making his way over to where Zelina had been sitting while she was on watch.  When he fell into a loose standing at the ready position, hands clasped in front of him, Zelina decided she could trust he wasn’t about to fall asleep on the job and settled down to get some sleep of her own.

Before she fell asleep, she couldn’t help but think of how Luke’s chosen position was so close to what Anakin used to do when he meditated standing, the image of him standing on the veranda of Varykino before deciding they needed to go to Tatooine flashing through her mind.

* * *

It took Luke a little while to fully wake up, still shaking off the sleepy feeling when he heard his mother’s breathing even out to signal she’d fallen asleep.  Part of the reason he stayed standing instead of sitting or anything else was to try and help him avoid falling asleep, especially since the only things around him were the droids in standby mode and his sleeping mother...and lots of sand.

Meditating was the best thing he could think to do.  He didn’t have the patience to meditate for long periods of time, yet, but he could do short bursts of it.  Now was the best time to practice meditating for a longer period, though, since there was quite literally nothing else for him to do.  He could go through lightsaber forms, but he didn’t want his father’s blade to catch any stormtrooper’s eye when they were supposed to be lying low in the desert, which meant not waving around a brightly glowing weapon that screamed _I’m a Jedi_!

With more effort than he cared to admit, Luke managed to work himself into a light meditation, one that would help him sense any promptings from the Force but wasn’t about to reveal the inner workings of the Force in greater nuanced detail, like his mother seemed capable of.

His meditation did allow him to sense it when his mother’s sleep turned uneasy, and for a few moments, he turned to look at her, worried she was about to descend into nightmares.  It wouldn’t be the first time she had them, not by a long shot, and it wouldn’t be the first time he was present to witness them.

Whatever was going on in her head seemed to ease, however, and after a few moments longer spent waiting to see if the turbulence in her presence would escalate again, Luke turned back to staring out at the dunes and trying to achieve a more time-passing meditation.

After hours of struggle and a few drinks from the canteen, he finally saw light start to fall across Tatooine’s sky again, which he figured was one of the things he was supposed to be looking for.  Turning back to his mother, he placed a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake.

“Mother...It’s almost dawn.”

Zelina was awake far faster than Luke had woken, and he had a suspicion it had everything to do with her experience with war, and the fact she’d been rather silent since Luke showed her the droids.  She’d probably been getting back in that kind of mindset as they tried to get off of the planet.

“Wake the droids.  We’ll go to that docking bay Solo mentioned and hopefully get there before the suns rise,” his mother murmured, getting to her feet.

Luke did as she asked, taking his poncho off Artoo and waking the little astromech droid first before relieving Threepio of his mother’s cloak and reactivating him next.  “We’re going back into town,” he told the two of them before Threepio had the chance to start questioning them about what was going on.

Artoo whistled in approval as Luke pulled the poncho back on and gave his mother her cloak back, watching as she tied it in place.  “Do you think we’ll be able to get back into town without any stormtroopers noticing?

“If we’re careful.  I expect we’ll run into some kind of trouble before we leave Tatooine, but nothing we can’t handle,” she assured him, gesturing for the droids to follow them as she started to lead the way back into town, her steps sure and quick across the dunes.

Luke followed after her silently but with an air of nervousness, fully prepared to run into some kind of perimeter parole of stormtroopers as they tried to enter town.  His mother didn’t seem to be too worried, but again, he was worried she might be a little too cocky about their chances of getting through the town with no incident.  They’d already narrowly missed running into stormtroopers once, and by now the stormtroopers might know who they were looking for, or at least be better organized in their search.

The tension crackled in the air between the two of them as they drew close to the town’s borders, his mother’s steps slowing and becoming far more cautious as they came within range of any possible patrols.  She gestured for Luke to move closer, prompting him to come almost even with her, the droids trailing behind them.

Voices drifted towards them from off to their left, and his mother’s pace suddenly picked up to a silent sprint for cover.  Her longer gait caused Luke to fall a few paces behind, but he still managed to duck into the alley his mother had sprinted for a few seconds after her.  He turned to see where the droids were, and was pleasantly surprised to see that his mother was already pulling them swiftly forward in the Force so they wouldn’t be left standing out in the open.  Artoo only beeped once in surprise before realizing what was happening and quickly quieting down.

Threepio, on the other hand…

“Oh!  Oh dear—what’s happening?  Put me down!” he cried out, loud enough Luke cringed.  Before he could even look at her, his mother moved past him in a fast crouch.

“Shut him up,” Zelina hissed through clenched teeth as Threepio came to a slightly rough landing in the alley a little ways behind Luke, who hurried to quiet the panicking droids as his mother flattened herself against the alley wall.

“Threepio, quiet, you’re gonna get us caught, and you’ll be turned to scrap,” Luke warned in a whisper, bringing both droids deeper into the shadows of the alley and watching the other end as he did so.  His mother was clearly waiting to see if the approaching patrol had heard Threepio—which they probably had—to take care of them if necessary.

“Oh my…” Threepio muttered in response, though Luke was quite pleased the droid was much quieter this time.

Holding still until his mother could catch up to them, Luke looked back towards the mouth of the alley, keeping close to the shadows and positioned with the intent to use his own figure to try and hide the majority of the droids’ reflective surfaces, waiting in tense anticipation to see what his mother was going to do.

A small ripple went through the Force, and Luke barely saw a flash of white before his mother lunged out of her hiding spot, sweeping the legs of the closest stormtrooper out from under him and grabbing the arm of the second in the few moments she had where they were caught off guard.  She yanked the second soldier’s arm up to expose one of the few unarmored points a stormtrooper had, firing a stun blast into that small space.  As the second was crumpling to the ground with a cut off grunt of surprise, she moved the other soldier’s arm with a well-placed sweep of her foot and fired another stun round at the trooper on the ground.

His mother holstered her blaster, glancing back to see Luke still standing in the alley with the droids, about to head her way.  She held up a hand before he could get too far.  “Don’t bother—I’ll hide them, you keep going—you know the way.  I’ll catch up.”

“We shouldn’t split up,” Luke argued, knowing his mother was perfectly capable of handling herself, but also that they had more security moving together.

“The faster those droids get out of sight, the easier it will be to get out of here—go on, Luke, I’m only going to be hiding these two so we have a bit more time,” his mother scolded him, already in the process of dragging one of the two stormtroopers into the alley.

Not wanting to vex his mother more than he already had, Luke reluctantly went back to the droids, leaving his mother to hide the two stormtroopers as he took the lead to get the droids to the town’s small spaceport.  “Come on—try not to make too much noise,” he murmured, his order mostly directed at Threepio, since the golden droid had already caused them to run into stormtroopers once.

Sticking to the back alleys in an effort to avoid the stormtroopers, Luke did his best to stay in the shadows and blend in, keeping his pace slow enough the droids could keep up even though he was tempted to race to the spaceport as fast as he could.  With each passing minute the darkness was giving way to light as Tatooine’s twin suns slowly started to rise, dawn gradually erasing the cover of darkness Luke would have preferred to keep when he was trying to be sneaky.  One hand hovered near his blaster in case he ran into some of the many criminals that populated Tatooine, hoping if he did get caught in a scuffle that it wouldn’t attract any Imperial attention.

He passed a few of the unfortunate poor that were at the very bottom of Tatooine’s food chain, just above those that were unfortunate enough to get sold into slavery.  Most of them were asleep, and since he was in a hurry, he didn’t bother any of them, only rushed past them in his haste to reach the spaceport.  Not far from his goal, someone lurking in the shadows of the back alleys reached out and tried to grab him, a slight warning from the Force his only chance to move out of the way before they could.  His dodge was quickly followed by the sound of a blaster’s safety clicking off.

“Whatever money you’ve got, throw it on the ground.  A-and no funny business,” A strained voice suddenly demanded.  Luke focused on the dark hole the figure was standing in, making out a spindly and slightly taller figure trying to stay in the shadows, the only part exposed to the rising dawn’s light the end of the blaster that was pointed at Luke.

“Oh my,” Threepio exclaimed, immediately putting his hands up.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any money,” Luke said steadily, eying the blaster and taking a quick sweep of the area and what was around him.  His hand was itching to fly to his lightsaber or the blaster at his side, but he worried he wouldn’t be able to draw either before the stranger managed to shoot him.

“I’m not _s-stupid_!” the figure—definitely a man, from the sound of his voice—spat.  “No one comes into town d-dressed like that w-w-with two fancy droids and no credits, so…just s-set the money down nice and slow.”

“I’m in a group,” Luke said honestly, hands raised high enough in the air to show he wasn’t reaching for a weapon.  While he spoke, he carefully tried to reach out for the blaster that was aimed at him through the Force, intending to pull the weapon into his own hands before the other could shoot.  “Someone else is carrying the money since they’re doing the buying.  I was—”

“One more lie, and I’m gonna shoot you.  Just h-hand over the credits before y-you end up dead!” the figure shouted.

Luke’s jaw tightened as he accepted the man wasn’t going to believe that he really didn’t have any money, tensing as he prepared for a hopefully quick scuffle and—

“Hey!  What’s going on here?”

It was an odd feeling to be glad to hear a voice with the telltale stormtrooper helmet distortion, at least with his current situation.  The would-be thief made a break for it, shoving Luke aside as he bolted down the alley in an attempt to outrun the stormtrooper.  Luke backpedaled again as the stormtrooper rushed forward, opening fire on the fleeing criminal and gunning him down only a few paces into the alley.

Luke felt a pang of trepidation to see the thief get shot down, since he’d only had the intention to stun the man himself, knowing he was likely someone just trying to get by.

Or maybe one of the many spice addicts this planet seemed to harbor…

After the stormtrooper checked to make sure the man was really dead, he turned his attention back to Luke, who had been trying to subtly slide out of the alley to escape being the center of the stormtrooper’s attention.

“Don’t you go anywhere, either—what was all that about?” the stormtrooper asked suspiciously.  Luke reluctantly turned back around to face the Imperial trooper, giving a small shrug and allowing a sheepish smile to appear on his face.

“He jumped me—wanted credits I don’t have.  See, I’m part of a cargo ship crew that made a delivery here, I was just trying to make it back to the ship before our captain takes off.  He’s got more deliveries to make, so we’re on a tight schedule—”

“What about the droids?” the stormtrooper asked suddenly, suspicion suddenly lacing his tone.

_Ah, chuba._

“Them?” Luke asked innocently, gesturing towards Threepio and Artoo.

“I am See-Threepio, Human Cyborg Relations, and this is Artoo-Detoo,” Threepio said cordially, with Luke letting him finish.  “We most sincerely thank you for your timely rescue—”

“They’ve been with the ship for a while now,” Luke said, interrupting Threepio before the droid could accidentally say something that gave them away.  “The astromech for obvious reasons, and the other for translation.  They wanted out of the ship for a while and I drew the short straw to keep them with me.”

The stormtrooper was silent for a moment, and then, “Let me see some identification.”

He didn’t have any.  That had been something he not only left behind, but his mother had destroyed as soon as they got home, since they were off to join the Rebellion and probably wouldn’t want people to know who they were.

He could only think of one thing to do in response.

Luke casually waved his hand in an almost dismissive gesture in front of the stormtrooper, a small smile on his lips.  “You don’t need to see my identification,” Luke said with a small laugh, just in case it didn’t work and he needed to pass it off as something else.

The stormtrooper that had quite possibly saved his life moments ago raised his blaster to level it at Luke, and considering he had already gunned down one civilian, Luke didn’t doubt he would hesitate to shoot Luke if he felt it necessary.

“What kind of idiot waves his hand around and says—”

Another ripple through the Force caused Luke to step back just as a cloaked figure pounced on the stormtrooper from above, ripping off the soldier’s helmet as two blaster shots sounded over another exclamation from Threepio.  One was the stun blast that took out the soldier, and the other was a reflexive shot that Luke barely ducked in time.  As quickly as it had started, the scuffle was over, with his mother standing up and stepping over the stormtrooper as she adjusted her cloak.

“Leave it to you and that Skywalker luck to run into the one stormtrooper that _isn’t_ weak minded.”

“I could have handled that,” Luke protested, already moving forward to try and drag the stormtrooper into the same shadowy corner the thief had been hiding in.

“Of course you could, but we don’t have time for circular conversations.  We’ve got a trail of four bodies, now, we need to go.  We’ll be lucky if the Imperials aren’t already aware someone is sneaking into town trying to leave,” she replied, waiting until he drew even with her to resume the trek forward.  “Come on, Solo should be there by now.”

The poor excuse for a spaceport the town had wasn’t that far from where Luke had been jumped, and within minutes, Luke, Zelina, Threepio, and Artoo had all slipped inside.  Chewbacca was waiting for them just outside docking bay seven, offering a warm chuff of greeting as they approached and waiting for the four of them to step inside before taking up the rear, either to watch their backs or shield them from any prying eyes with his towering form.  Maybe both.  Zelina let her hood drop once they were inside, pulling Luke up to walk beside her as if she was afraid of getting separated from him when they were this close to getting off-planet.

Han looked up as they approached the lowered landing ramp, a grease-covered rag in hand to clean up the mess left over from whatever he’d been working on before they arrived.  “When you said at dawn, you really meant it.  I don’t think the suns are even done rising, yet,” Han commented.

“Yes, well, promptness is probably in our best interest right now,” Zelina replied.  Han glanced between the two of them, a flicker of concern flashing across his face.

“You didn’t run into any trouble getting here?”

“We ran into a few stormtroopers, but if we leave _now_ it shouldn’t be an issue,” Zelina said pointedly.  Han nodded, gesturing for the pair to head on up the ramp.

“Right—we’re in a hurry, anyway, so go on inside and strap in,” Han agreed.  Zelina was already pulling Luke towards the ramp, gently pulling him up the ramp behind her as she led the way inside.

“Go get strapped in,” she told Luke softly, making sure both droids were safely up the ramp as she undid her cloak, shrugging her bag that she’d been stashing her things inside off her shoulder as well.

Luke did as he was asked, part of him stirring anxiously as he got settled in, the droids following him and finding their own places to secure themselves.  Chewbacca was next to enter the ship, passing Luke’s mother and growling something softly to her that caused her to smile and gently pat Chewbacca on the shoulder before the Wookiee continued towards the cockpit.  Zelina made her way to Luke, who was gazing at her curiously.

“What was that about?” he asked.  Zelina shook her head, a small smile still on her face.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” she said quietly.  As she was strapping in, Han strode confidently into the ship, passing the pair as he made his way towards the cockpit.

“Alderaan here we come,” he quipped before disappearing again.  Luke looked over at his mother, a bit of doubt starting to gather on his features.

“I would have expected a little more resistance,” he admitted, feeling the ship warming up beneath them to take flight.

Zelina glanced at him briefly.  “We had a head start.  If you hadn’t thought to show me the droids, or we’d been delayed in any way, we would probably have stormtroopers chomping at our heels the whole way here.  But there’s still whatever’s waiting for us above the planet to get through.  They know those droids are here, which means they’re probably going to try and stop us from leaving,” Zelina said pointedly.

Luke felt the ship shudder before it lifted up into the air, signaling that they were about to find out if his mother’s guess was going to be right.

A few minutes later, Luke felt the ship shudder much more violently.

“Oh my, I’d forgotten how much I hate space travel,” Threepio complained as another shudder came through the ship.  Luke reached for his restraints so he could undo them and race for the cockpit, but Zelina’s hand on his stopped him.

“It’s the blockade.  Solo’s a good pilot, he’ll get us through it,” she attempted to sooth him.

“Can’t I at least see what’s going on?” Luke asked.  He was itching to see what Han would do to outmaneuver the Imperials, as well as see the ship jump to lightspeed.

His mother gave him a small smile.  “There will be plenty of time to see space battles and learn about jumping to lightspeed, later—right now, let them focus on getting us out.  Solo probably won’t appreciate us crowding up the cockpit and would send us right back here, anyway,” she said pointedly.

Luke deflated slightly, knowing she had a point but still wanting to see what was happening from the cockpit.

 _Soon_ , a small voice whispered inside him, and he partially wondered if it was actually some feeling sent to him from his mother.

The ship took a few more hits and made a few steep maneuvers they could feel even in their seats before, suddenly, the ship gave a different kind of shudder.  A soft hum wafted through the ship, and the strikes came no more.

They were on their way to Alderaan.


	8. Grounded

With Tatooine officially behind them, Zelina had a moment where she felt the same yawning uncertainty before her that she’d felt as a child, one that part of her was afraid to willingly jump in to.  Of course, at this point she’d already made the jump, and there was no stopping the descent.  She just had to stay quick on her feet and adapt to whatever was thrown their way, for Luke’s sake as well as for her own.

Speaking of Luke…

Both of them were unstrapping from their seats, gratefully getting to their feet and going through some much needed stretches now that the ship was traveling smoothly through hyperspace.  Zelina forced herself to calm her thoughts and try and turn them away from worrying about the future for the time being so she could focus on the now.  She couldn’t make any solid plans about moving forward until she spoke with the Alliance and knew what was going on.

“Are you all right?” she asked, looking at Luke with a critical eye.

“I’m fine,” he assured her.  “I had some timely interventions, so I don’t even have a scratch on me.”

“Good—let’s try to keep it that way,” Zelina murmured, folding her arms across her chest. 

Luke leaned against the holotable they had been seated behind.  “So…what happens when we reach Alderaan?”

“We’ll see Senator Bail Organa and find out what’s been going on with the Alliance, as well as find out what important information Artoo is carrying.  After that, depending on what’s going on with the Alliance, I’d like to try rescuing Leia from the Empire—I’m sure Bail would agree, considering she’s his daughter.”

“Leia?” Luke asked quizzically, eyebrows pulling together and a small frown appearing on his face.

Zelina quickly buried the pang that went through her heart over the fact that Luke didn’t know his own sister, and the utter confusion he said her name with.  Part of Zelina wanted to outright tell Luke Leia was his sister, but a slightly more logical part of her told her to wait a little longer until Luke had more experience and could fully appreciate why Leia’s identity as his twin had been protected so strongly.  It would be strange to be addressing Leia as an Organa, as Zelina’s mind was fixed on her true identity as Leia Skywalker.  If they did manage to rescue her, Zelina wouldn’t even be able to tell the young woman she was there when she was born, considering Luke already knew Zelina had been there when _he_ was born, and the fact Luke and Leia were the same age with the same birthday combined with Zelina’s presence at their births would make the truth of their relations glaringly obvious.

“The young woman in the hologram—it’s Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, Bail and Breha Organa’s adoptive daughter,” Zelina explained patiently, the name _Leia Organa_ one that felt strange rolling off her tongue.  “I knew her parents,” Zelina added, a thousand emotions behind the words Luke didn’t realize held a double meaning.

“So they’ll recognize you?” Luke asked.

“I should hope so—not only did they send _me_ the message, but Bail was involved in smuggling me around the galaxy as the Purge was happening.  _And_ he and his wife were friends with your mother.”

Luke was still processing the new information when they were joined by one of their two pilots, Chewbacca lumbering into the room and grunting out a short explanation that Han was making sure everything was set in the cockpit before he joined them.  Zelina nodded to show she understood, and Chewbacca slid into the seats they had just been sitting it, powering up the holotable.  Artoo rolled up to the other side, whistling a question before Chewbacca huffed in response, and the two began a game.

“Do we have long before we reach Alderaan?” Zelina asked Chewbacca.  The Wookiee growled out a reply, and Zelina sighed, turning towards Luke.  “Okay…I was going to have you do some practicing while we’re making our jump, but if it’s going to be that short of a jump, we’ll just have to stick with something simple.  Show me your stance.”

Luke sighed, quite familiar with what was coming by now as he stood in front of Zelina, taking the lightsaber off his belt and activating the blade.  The blue blade cast a soft glow through the dimly lit room.  Luke gripped the blade in both hands, shifting into his at the ready stance.

Zelina made sure his stance was correct—which, to Luke’s credit, it usually was at the start of his forms--before she nodded.  “All right, run through your Soresu, now’s probably a good time for a defensive refresh,” she instructed him, starting a slow walk around Luke as he started a well-paced run through some basic Soresu defensive positions, as well as a few custom forms Zelina had come up with between her experience during the war, Obi-Wan’s advice, and all the time they’d had on Tatooine.  She could feel Chewbacca’s attention partially on them even though he was playing the game with Artoo, watching Luke specifically as the young man practiced his forms.  Clearly, Chewbacca was interested in just how good of a Jedi Luke was.

As Luke went through a block and counterstrike movement, Zelina stepped forward.  “Stop,” she told him, making sure he wasn’t about to accidentally slice her with the lightsaber as she stepped into his bubble, bringing him back to the block’s position where he held the blade horizontal over his shoulder with both hands, the end pointed behind him.  She grasped his arms and placed them into a stronger position, readjusting his grip manually on the blade.  “You’re going to want a strong stance when you’re in this position, and a firm grip.  Most of the time you’ll probably fall to this defense against someone taller and most likely stronger.  They’ll probably be coming _down_ on you with all their strength, so you’ll need that firmness to hold against it.  And for the love of the Force, Luke, fix your stance.  You’re always wide,” she finished with a chiding tone, adjusting his stance with her foot.

A slight flush appeared in his cheeks at the correction, but he held the position, his fingers flexing around the lightsaber blade to feel out the position and make sure he knew exactly where he needed to be.  Zelina stepped away, eyeing Luke for a few more seconds to make sure he could hold the position before she nodded.  “All right, go through that one a couple more times, just so we can make sure you’ve got it.”

Luke gave a curt nod, holding the position a couple seconds longer before running through the move again.  He made a few adjustments back to how Zelina had told him to stand before she even had the chance to correct him.  After a few runs through the move, Zelina stepped towards him and pulled her own blade into her hand, swiftly bringing her lightsaber down on Luke’s as he reset to the block position, putting her strength into the blow to test if he could hold against a strong attack.  There was a flicker of surprise from Luke, and his block gave slightly, but he managed to hold and follow through with the counterattack part of the move.  He pushed her blade away and down, then moved into the upwards slash towards her person.  Zelina stepped back and ducked low, hooking her foot around Luke’s too wide stance and sweeping the leg out from under him.  He lost his balance, starting to tip forward and fall to the ground before he twisted halfway down, managing to catch himself and get back to his feet.  Zelina was already advancing, and he fell back into another defensive Soresu form, his stance much stronger and not so spread apart now that Zelina had emphasized her point.  She pressed him a little longer, going easy on him by her standards as she allowed him enough time and space to get into the correct forms and tailored her attacks to prompt him to fall back on certain Soresu forms.  Finally, when their easy-going dance came dangerously close to one of the many things that cluttered the main chamber of the Falcon, Zelina stepped away and deactivated her lightsaber, hooking it to her belt.

“That’s enough for now—we wouldn’t want to damage something on Solo’s ship, now, would we?” she said pointedly.  Luke deactivated his lightsaber as well, returning it to its spot on his belt.  “Maybe if we get to see Obi-Wan he’ll have a few training droids we can use to really put your defensive abilities to the test.”

“I thought you shooting those low power bolts at me while I deflected was already putting them to the test?” Luke asked slyly.  Zelina only smiled sweetly back at him.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s cute that you think that’s as difficult as that exercise can get.  I didn’t have anyone or anything else I could have shoot at you.  Now I will.”

A flicker of a doubtful grimace flashed across Luke’s face, and Zelina had to fight to hide her smirk as she turned away, her attention shifting towards the hall as they heard footsteps approaching, signaling that Han was finally joining them.

“Alright, we should be at Alderaan bout oh two hundred hours,” Han announced as he walked in, finding his own seat by the monitor wall before he turned to face his two passengers.  “Now that the getting through the blockade part is over, do you two want to explain to me what kind of trouble you’ve found yourselves in that made you leave in the middle of the night?  Not to mention the fact the Imperials actually bothered to blockade Tatooine.”

Zelina and Luke shared a look, with Luke appearing more curious to know what Zelina was going to tell Han than anything else.  Zelina moved to lean against the wall near where Han was sitting, folding her arms across her chest.  “Well, to start, my name isn’t Zel Ahn, though I was feeling particularly drained the day I came up with that cover name.  It’s actually Zelina Du’ahn.  I was a general for the Republic during the Clone Wars, and a Jedi Knight, the same as Luke’s father,” Zelina explained, nodding to where Luke was standing, waiting to see how Han would react to this nugget of information before moving forward with her explanation.

The smuggler sat still for a moment, studying her as if he expected her to be pulling his leg.  When he didn’t find anything to make him think she was lying, he spoke up.

“You’re telling me you went from big shot who believed in hokey magic, to a cantina owner on Tatooine?” Han asked incredulously.  “ _Why_?”

“Well, in case you forgot the tiny detail of history, the Emperor was especially vicious towards Jedi.  I was in the Jedi Temple the night the Republic fell,” Zelina said somberly.  Recognition flickered in Han’s eyes, as well as a flash of respect.  “As for your rather obvious opinion on belief in the Force, I’m not asking that you convert or try to be a Jedi, Solo, I simply ask for a bit more respect…so please refrain from mocking it too much?”

Best to get ahead of that now before it became a habit that bothered her—or Luke.  Zelina might have a thicker skin for that than Luke did, but still.

“Right…” Han muttered, gaze darting over to Luke before he turned his attention back to Zelina.  “So that explains why you were _on_ Tatooine—doesn’t explain why you’re suddenly running.  Did the Imperials find out you were hiding in the desert?”

“Actually, no.  I have some old friends that joined the Rebellion a while ago.  Apparently, the Rebellion needs our help, because the only reason they would tell the Rebellion where we are would be as a last resort.”

“So not only are you Republic and Jedi, but also Rebellion?  When yesterday you were waiting tables and filling the scum of the galaxy with liquor?  I find that a little hard to believe.”

“Again, Solo, I’m not asking you to believe me.  I’m just asking you get us to Alderaan in one piece.  And so far you’re doing just fine at that,” Zelina soothed.  “Speaking of…”

Keeping a perfectly straight face, Zelina stretched out her hand, and her bag flew from its spot by the chair and holotable Chewbacca, Artoo, and Threepio were gathered around right into her waiting hand.  She rifled through it without even looking up at Han, though she could feel the _strong_ surprise and alarm ripping through him as she found the little case she’d been keeping the first part of his payment in, pulling it out to offer to the smuggler who was sitting tense in his chair and watching her like she might go rabid and bite him if he moved.

“You probably want the first part of your payment, am I right?” Zelina asked, keeping up the charade that everything was perfectly normal.  She could sense Luke wrestling with his mirth at Han’s reaction, but she stayed stoic, refusing to react in any way to suggest what she’d done wasn’t normal.

Han still didn’t move, not until Chewbacca roared just loud enough to snap Han out of his brief trance, the smuggler cautiously taking the box from her.  “That’s not funny,” he said flatly, eyes darting every now and then towards the bag in her hand.

“No, I don’t think running from the Imperials is funny, either,” Zelina said seriously, turning back towards Luke with the intent to walk him through a less destructive Jedi exercise once she was done talking to Solo.  Luke finally cracked and started snickering behind her, turning away to hide his laughter when Han shot him a dirty look.  “Anyway, I know Luke and I just got you caught up in quite a bit of trouble, and I’m sorry about that, but once we’re on Alderaan we’ll be out of—”

Zelina cut off as an invisible lance seemed to slice through her in the Force, sudden and powerful in its lasting impact that caused her to take a step back instead of forward as her vision clouded over for a few heart stopping moments.

A force far greater than what she had felt back at the temple the day the Jedi died suddenly crashed around her, pressing in on her like trillions of microscopic needles piercing her skin, millions of screams echoing in her mind at a volume so great she was sure she was hearing them in the _Falcon_ itself.  There was unbridled terror, panic, hopelessness, confusion, raw agony in a blinding flash…and then utter silence.

Zelina found herself struggling to bring herself back to reality, a tightness in her chest that made it difficult to breathe, body slumped to the side against the wall and a Wookiee trying to shake her out of her stupor.  Her focus sharpened enough for her to seek out Luke, noting the young man had braced himself on the nearest item that was waist high at least, which ended up being a concerned Artoo, the other hand clutching at his head and posture halfway towards doubled over.

Chewbacca gave a concerned growl as Zelina gradually came back to the present, his question clear even if she hadn’t become familiar with Shyriiwook.  Zelina waved a hand about vaguely to show she was all right, waiting to see how Luke was fairing before she answered the Wookiee.

The young Jedi looked at her in alarm, and even with a light of fear in his eyes.  “What was that?” he asked in a breathless voice once he’d regained his senses.

“Something’s happened,” Zelina murmured.  “Something terrible…and I’ve seen a genocide, so I don’t say that lightly…I haven’t sensed something bad on that scale since the Jedi were wiped out.”

Chewbacca chuffed in concern, something about Yoda reacting similarly the last time the Wookiee had seen him and worry over what could have caused the two Jedi to react the way they had.

“What are you talking about, you furry oaf?” Han asked, though the comment was background noise to Zelina as she kept her gaze on Luke.

“I don’t think whatever happened is anything we can help…and it’s not something we’re going to find answers about, at least not while we’re traveling.  We’ll find out eventually, but…there’s not anything we can do right now,” Zelina said slowly, still understandably troubled by what she had felt, but knowing better to dwell on it when she couldn’t do anything about it.

She made her way over to Luke, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.  “Are you all right?”

Luke shook his head, his expression unsure.  “I…I’ve never felt anything like that before.  It was like…like…”

“A sensory overload.  Feeling the weight of the galaxy suddenly fall on you and then disappear just as quickly,” Zelina offered quietly.  She waited until Luke nodded to continue.  “You felt whatever it was that happened, something I have the suspicion included sudden death.  You won’t feel something on that scale often in your life…but you will experience it on a smaller scale if we’re going to be joining this war.  Just something to think about and try to prepare yourself for.”

A sudden unpleasant tickle went down Zelina’s spin, and she spun around to look at Han.  “Get to the cockpit—and expect trouble,” she said with a sharpness that made Han’s eyebrows raise.

“Listen, I know we’ve known each other a while now, but I don’t appreciate being told how to pilot my ship,” Han started to lecture, though the end of his sentence was drowned out by the alarm that told him they needed to come out of hyperspace.  He scowled, rising to his feet.  “Looks like we’re here, anyway…lucky guess.”

Zelina squeezed Luke’s arm, which she still had one hand on.  “Be ready,” she told him lowly, shadowing Chewbacca as the Wookiee made his way down the Falcon’s corridors after Han.

“…cutting the sublight engines,” she heard Han tell Chewbacca up ahead as they headed towards the cockpit.  Zelina subconsciously reached out to place a hand against the wall a split second before she felt the ship shudder as it reverted back to realspace…and instantly jerked from a sudden impact.

“What the—?” Han exclaimed up ahead as Zelina and Luke hurried through the rest of the hall as the ship continued to rock from more impacts.  “We’ve come out of hyperspace into some kind of meteor shower, some kind of asteroid collision.”

“What’s going on?” Luke asked as soon as they were inside the cockpit.

“Our position’s correct, except…there’s no Alderaan,” Han explained hesitantly.

“What do you mean, where is it?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Kid, it ain’t there.  It’s totally blown away.”

“ _What_?  How?” Luke exclaimed, leaning over Han’s seat and looking out the viewport at all the asteroids flying past the _Falcon_ in shock.  Zelina reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back just a little to keep him from invading Han’s bubble too much while the man was trying to pilot them through the asteroids.

“The Empire.  It’s what we felt earlier—Alderaan being destroyed.  We were moments away from being caught in the explosion, too,” she remarked softly.  Han turned to look at her, Chewbacca keeping them on track every time Han was distracted.

“The entire starfleet couldn’t destroy the planet, it would take a thousand ships, with more firepower than I’ve—”

A light started to flash on the monitor, and Luke interrupted, leaning forward to point towards the flashing light and bring more attention to it.  “There’s another ship coming in.  Maybe they know what happened?”

Zelina shook her head as Han turned his attention away from his argument against Zelina’s statement to the ship.  “It’s Imperial—not someone we really want to make acquaintances with right now,” Zelina observed.

In other words, she wasn’t about to ask them what had happened, she could get that information elsewhere.

The _Falcon_ was rocked by a few more impacts, mostly from asteroids, but also a light strafing run from the ship they had been discussing moments before it flew into view.

“That’s a short-range fighter,” Luke commented as the little TIE fighter rushed past their viewport.  Han was quick to challenge him.

“There aren’t any bases around here, where’d he come from?”

“A flagship, perhaps, that we haven’t yet seen.  At the very least…Ships that small can’t move on their own without some sort of base to return to,” Zelina said in defense of Luke’s assessment.

“If they identify us, we’re in big trouble—and they’re moving pretty quickly,” Luke added, the concern in his voice clear.

“Not if I can help it.  Chewie, jam its transmissions,” Han said firmly.  “He ain’t gonna be around long enough to tell anybody about us.”

“Look, he’s headed for that small moon.”

“I think I can get him before he gets there, he’s almost in range.”

Zelina was only half paying attention to what they were saying, still trying to puzzle out where the little ship had come from since she had the sneaking suspicion where it came from would be extremely important.  It would tell them exactly where Imperial forces were so they could avoid it.

Then she paused.  Small moon?  Alderaan didn’t have any moons…

Zelina leaned forward, staring intently out the viewport in the direction Luke had indicated.  A cold shiver went down her spine, and a disturbing possibility started to blossom in her mind.  Ringo Vinda had a giant space station that circled the entire planet decades ago, what was to say that this ‘small moon’ wasn’t…

Something felt right about that theory, and a foreboding terror started to settle in her gut.

“That’s no moon…” she said softly, placing a hand on the back of Han’s seat as she leaned forward.  “Han, get us out of here.”

“I’ve almost got him, then we won’t have to worry about—” Han started to sooth her, but Zelina interrupted him.

“Han, he’s leading us to a space station—that moon is a space station,” Zelina said sharply.

“It’s too big to be a space station!”

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” Luke said quietly, gazing at the ‘moon’ that was slowly growing closer, it’s more defining and decidedly _not_ moon-like features starting to show.

“Han—turn the ship around, get us out of here!” Zelina said much more urgently, balking at the thought that after dodging the Imperials at Tatooine, they were going to drop right into their lap at…well, what was supposed to be Alderaan.

“Yeah…I think you’re right,” Han murmured.  “Full reverse, Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!”

She could see them both trying to turn them around, to finally listen and get out while they still had the chance, but instead of making any progress, the _Falcon_ only shuddered from the effort of trying to follow the command of its pilots.  She could feel the resistance the ship was carrying out even as it continued to head towards the space station.

“Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!” Han repeated much louder, earning a stressed roar from Chewbacca as the Wookiee admonished Han for pressing him when he had already done it.

“Why are we still heading _towards_ it?” Luke asked, voice higher in pitch as panic started to settle in.

“We’re caught in the tractor beam; it’s pulling us in!” Han snapped.

“There’s got to be _something_ you can do!”

“There’s nothing I can do about it, Kid, I’m at full—”

“Then if there’s nothing we can do here, we need to try something else,” Zelina interrupted, putting a hand on Luke’s shoulder to try and calm the young man even though their situation was rather grim at the moment.  Han turned to look at her with an expression that told her he thought she’d gone mad.

“Oh?  And what do you suggest, ‘cause I don’t have any escape pods, not that they would help us much since Alderaan’s gone,” Han returned scathingly.  Zelina didn’t flinch at his tone, having grown accustomed to the smuggler’s cynicism by now.

“We can’t wiggle free, and trying to fight our way through a station that size would be suicide.  We can’t run, we can’t fight, which means we have to hide until a better opportunity presents itself.”

“I don’t hide!”

“You do now,” Zelina said bluntly.  “I meant it when I said I don’t mind being shoved into a crate if it means getting away from the Imperials.  Now come on, we only have so long before they can board us!”

“What’s the plan, then, hot shot?”

Zelina only hesitated for a moment as she did a quick mental assessment of their situation and what the _Falcon_ had to offer them regarding hiding spots.  “Do you think your smuggling compartments can fit us all in there?”

“Maybe…it might be a bit of a tight fit…”

“I’ll take it.  Come on, let’s get moving.  Luke, come with me, we’re going to get the droids,” Zelina said, her voice holding the authority she’d exercised in the Clone Wars as she pulled gently on the young man’s shirt to encourage him to follow her.

As they rushed down the hall, Zelina spoke in a low voice to Luke.  “Just to be safe, I want you to hide your presence until we get out of here, okay?  We don’t know what, or who, is on that station, and I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Luke nodded, his presence in the Force immediately diminishing to the point she could hardly sense it—it was one of the first Force Abilities she’d taught him, after it had proven life-saving during the Purges, so it made sense he’d be able to do it so quickly and so well.

Doing the same with her own presence, Zelina was the first into the main chamber, hearing Han and Chewbacca rush down the hall in the opposite direction to get the smuggling compartments open.  Artoo wheeled up to her with a concerned whir, Threepio fretting in a loud voice over in his seat, which he hadn’t left since they’d boarded the ship.

“Oh my, we’re in trouble, aren’t we?  I knew this was all foolishness, now we’re—” Threepio rambled.

“We’re shutting him off while we’re in the compartments,” Zelina told Luke, shaking her head as she smothered her exasperation at Threepio’s constant fretting.

“I beg your pardon, Mistress—”

“First of all…please don’t call me mistress, Threepio, it sounds wrong.  Second—I can’t trust you to be completely silent while we’re trying to hide and our lives are at stake, so we’re just going to power you off for a few moments.”

Artoo whirred next to her, the sound somehow coming off as sassy, the little droid’s photoreceptor aimed at Threepio.

“See, even Artoo agrees!” Zelina said with a small chuckle, picking her cloak back up from where she’d left it earlier and putting it on.  “Now come on, we don’t have much time.”

Artoo dutifully followed behind Zelina, who left corralling Threepio to Luke—and she did feel a little guilt in leaving Luke to deal with the droid who was now loudly protesting being temporarily shut down.

Chewbacca and Han were waiting for them, with Han already inside one of the compartments and Chewbacca waiting to help lower the droids inside.  Zelina passed the one Han was waiting in, jumping down into the compartment and reaching up to help Artoo down into the compartment with her.

“Luke can be with me, you two can have Threepio if you think he’ll fit—we’re going to shut him down so we don’t have to worry about him giving us away,” she called as she set Artoo down.

“Sounds like a plan,” Han grumbled, then, “Let’s hurry this along, Kid, the _Falcon’s_ gonna dock any minute now.”

There was a bit of shuffling, and the sound of Threepio’s protests finally being cut off before Luke appeared above Zelina and Artoo, with only enough of a pause in movement for Zelina and Artoo to move out of the way before the young man jumped down with them.  Zelina waved a hand to make sure he stayed crouched down before she reached over and started to pull the floor paneling into place, glancing over long enough to see Chewbacca’s fur disappear beneath the floor.  She would have called a final good luck, but she felt the ship slow and start rocking into place, barely fitting the panel back over the compartment before the ship ground to a halt.

She reached out towards where she knew Luke was, her hand finding his arm as a sort of comfort—for herself—in the near darkness.  Artoo’s photoreceptor was facing the wall of the compartment, so there was only a dim red light glowing on a small spot of one of the compartment’s walls.  A stillness settled over the ship for a few tense moments, the only sound Zelina could hear being Luke’s and her soft breathing in the small space.

The silence was broken by the sound of the _Falcon’s_ ramp lowering, and footsteps sounding above and around them.  As the Imperials passed above them, even the sound of Luke and Zelina breathing halted for a few moments, as if they feared one of the troops would have sensitive hearing and pick up on the sound.  They both held perfectly still as the footsteps echoed through the ship as the Imperials swept it for passengers, so far oblivious to the fact what they were looking for was hiding right below their feet.

Finally, someone above called out, “There’s no one on board,” and the footsteps started to file away.  Just before the sound could disappear, Zelina stretched out with her senses in the Force to do a sweep of the immediate area, just to be sure they wouldn’t leave the compartments and run right into a stormtrooper or officer.  She was able to quickly confirm there wasn’t anyone on board, though there were a couple beings near the ship itself that would keep them from simply walking off the _Falcon_.  Her sweep would have stopped there…if she hadn’t sensed a potent concentration of darkness.  It was somewhere on this station, somewhere nearby but thankfully moving away from their position.  A being strong with the dark side of the Force, someone who pulsated rage and hate and pain.  The intensity of simply brushing against the presence and sensing the tumultuous emotions made her dizzy, and she had to quickly retreat back to herself.  Her grip tightened on Luke for a moment before she made the conscious effort to let go, worry starting to spread beyond the slight squirm in her gut.

They’d escaped the reek nest on Tatooine and leapt right into a Nexu den.

Zelina gently tapped Luke’s arm to signal that they were clear before she reached up and pushed the compartment’s panel away, allowing light to reach them in their compartment once more.  Artoo tootled in relief as Zelina pulled herself up to the floor level, reaching out as Luke lifted Artoo to help Zelina get the little droid out of the compartment.  While they worked to get Artoo out of the compartment, Chewbacca and Han crawled out of theirs, with Chewbacca toting the still shut down Threepio.

“I’ve used these compartments for a lot of things, but I never thought I’d smuggle myself in them,” Han griped, scooting the rest of the way out of the compartment.

“I’m just glad they were big enough to fit all of us,” Zelina returned in a level tone, holding a hand out to help Luke up once they’d lifted Artoo out of the compartment.  “Now we have to get moving, before they come back for a more thorough check.”

“And how do you suggest we move around an Imperial station without drawing attention?  Especially since we have a Wookiee with us,” Han challenged.

“Very carefully…and by blending in,” she answered with a small twinkle in her eyes, gesturing for their group to gather by the _Falcon’s_ landing ramp.  She could sense two Imperials approaching, and she wanted to make sure they were ready before they could be discovered.

Waving a hand for Luke to stand on the opposite side from her, both Jedi stepped aside to let Han and Chewbacca stand in front of them, their two pilots catching on to Zelina’s plan as they heard the approaching footsteps.  A few seconds passed with tension crackling in the air between the four of them as the Imperials drew nearer, before the pair finally appeared at the top of the landing ramp.  Han and Chewbacca were on top of the two Imperials before the poor men even realized what was happening, silencing them instantly while the crate they’d been carrying dropped to the ground with a clatter.  Before he disappeared down the hall with his Imperial to hide them like Chewbacca was doing, Han called down the landing ramp.

“Hey, could you give us a hand up here?”

Luke and Zelina stepped up to fill the spots Han and Chewbacca had vacated, coiled and ready as heavier steps sounded up the landing ramp.  Moments after Han had called down the ramp, two stormtroopers appeared at the top of the railing, with Zelina sensing there was no one else in the immediate area, and their path was almost clear.

Luke and Zelina both pounced on the stormtrooper closest to them, disarming the troopers of their weapons in the few heartbeats the soldiers were stunned so they could shove the muzzles of the blasters in the weak points of the armor and shoot them.  They’d been stunning soldiers on Tatooine, but now they were on a space station and couldn’t risk any soldiers waking up and raising the alarm.  As soon as they were dead, Zelina immediately started stripping them of their armor.

“Put it on, and quickly,” she told Luke.  “We don’t have much time before someone starts asking why these two aren’t at their post.”

“Don’t we need more than two?” Luke asked, giving her a pointed look while he quickly yanked the armor off the trooper he’d taken down.

“I’ll only stick out in that armor—there aren’t many female stormtroopers, and I know how to sneak around behind enemy lines without disguises.  I’ll be fine.  It’s you, Han, and Chewbacca I’m worried about,” she explained, frowning as it took a more aggressive tug to get the chest piece off her stormtrooper.

“What about us?” Han asked as he and Chewbacca reappeared.  Zelina simply kicked her pile of armor his way.

“Get dressed, you’re going to need it,” she said simply.

Han picked up an arm piece, a slight raise to his eyebrows before he looked at Chewbacca.  “Not a bad idea…”

A garbled voice too soft for Zelina to make out the words sounded from the helmet of the armor Luke was pulling on, and the two Jedi locked gazes.

“Someone’s noticed.  Hurry, then get out there and stall, we’ll be right behind you,” Zelina said urgently, temporarily abandoning her trooper and leaving Han to finish yanking the armor pieces off as she moved to help Luke hurry into his armor.

The voice had grown annoyingly insistent by the time they managed to yank the last piece on and Luke shoved the helmet on his head, rushing to the landing ramp but forcing himself to slow to a calmer pace as he descended into view of whoever had noticed the stormtroopers weren’t at their post.  Zelina turned to make sure Han was set, flipped Threepio back on, then unholstered her blaster and stood at the top of the ramp, waiting for Luke to signal that they were in the clear.  Chewbacca and Han both flanked her on either side, with Artoo and Chewbacca taking a moment to fill in and hush the fussing protocol droid while Han and Zelina both waited in tense silence for Luke’s signal.

Finally, she felt a nudge from Luke in the Force, instantly racing forward at his signal while Han followed behind haltingly, trying to figure out what he had missed that had told Zelina to go.  As soon as her head cleared the _Falcon_ and she could see the station, she was locking her gaze on the closest hall that led out of the hangar so she had a goal to run towards, never halting in her quick movements.

The rest of the group followed Zelina’s path, with Luke right at her side.  Once they were in the hall, Luke took a sudden left.  “The control room should be this way,” he explained before anyone had the chance to question his sudden change of trajectory.

Zelina turned to follow Luke immediately, and they hurried down the slightly curved hall to reach the control room before any Imperials had the chance to come out and investigate or report their missing troops.

There was an officer just starting to make his way down the hall when the door finally loomed into sight, and Zelina quickly raised her blaster and fired one precise shot before the man had the chance to register that there was two droids, a Wookiee, and Zelina standing with the two ‘stormtroopers’ headed towards him.  He crumpled o the ground without any more sound besides her blaster shot, Chewbacca slowing to sling the corpse over his shoulder to carry out of sight as Han dashed ahead on a sudden adrenaline burst to dash into the control room, firing another shot at whoever was inside.  The rest of the group ran inside after him, with Luke pausing to shut and lock the door behind them once everyone was inside.

“Wasn’t there a quieter way to do that?  The entire station might already know we’re here,” Luke said skeptically after he’d yanked off the stormtrooper helmet.

“Trust me, we won’t get off this station without firing at some people,” Zelina muttered, pointing towards the mainframe as Artoo rolled past her.  “Go ahead and find a spot to plug in, Artoo, we need to find a way off this thing.”

“I’m not a big fan of all this sneaking around,” Han announced as he took off his helmet as well, making his way towards one of the station chairs.

“Would you rather go out in a blaze of futile struggling rather than, I don’t know…living to get off this station?” Zelina asked pointedly, turning away before Han could answer as Artoo let out a series of bleeps to get her attention.  Threepio automatically started translating.

“He said he’s found the main controls to the power beam that’s holding the ship here.  He’ll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor.”  Every eye in the room turned to look at the monitor above Artoo moments before it started flashing technical layouts of different parts of the station, Artoo’s continued beeps punctuating the changes in the schematics that he pulled onto the screen.  Threepio continued to translate over Artoo’s beeps.  “The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations.  A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave.”

Zelina leaned closer to the last schematic Artoo pulled up on the screen, studying the layout intently for a few moments before she leaned back and turned to the rest of their ragtag group.  “I’ll go do some damage to their terminal.  You guys stay here and try to lay low,” she said, holstering her blaster and pulling her cloak tightly around herself, raising the hood as well.

“Whatever you say.  I’ve gotten more than I bargained for on this trip already,” Han grumbled as she passed him on her way to the door.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Luke asked before she could leave, stopping her right in front of the door.

Zelina nodded back in the direction of the droids.  “Whatever it is Artoo has, it’s important.  I’d rather the droids keep some Jedi protection.  Besides, it will be easier to blend in if it’s only me.  You make the plans while I’m gone, by the way.  Stealth over big booms, if you know what I mean,” she said pointedly, tilting her head in Han’s direction.

Luke snorted in amusement.  “Yeah, I get it…are you _sure_ you don’t want me to go with you?”

Zelina placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.  “I’m trusting you to keep things under control over here.  Just listen to the Force and to your heart, and you’ll know what you need to do.  They won’t lead you astray.”

“Now where did you get a piece of advice like that?” Luke asked, his teasing smirk telling her that he was trying to use humor to diffuse some of the foreboding tension her last comment had stirred up between them.  Zelina squeezed his shoulder one more time to reassure him and opened the door to the hall before she met his gaze again.

“A very wise Jedi I’d trust with my life told me something like that during the Clone Wars, when I needed to hear it the most,” she said softly, an almost gentle pang going through her heart at the knowledge Luke had no idea that Jedi she was referring to was him.  A vision of him from the Force, of course, but still him in a way.

Luke gave her a questioning look, his furrowed brow and that small, confused frown of his making their appearance.  “Which Jedi was that?”

Zelina only smiled slightly at him, then turned and disappeared down the hall.


	9. Into The Unknown

Luke was reluctant to let his mother go alone, but dutifully stayed behind, shutting the door to the control room after his mother had disappeared.  He turned back to face Han and Chewbacca, who were both standing a few paces from the droids, having watched at least part of the exchange.

“Y’know, when I agreed to help you two, I did _not_ expect to keep getting pulled deeper and deeper into Imperial trouble,” Han said in an _almost_ scathing tone.

“We were just trying to get to Alderaan—do you think we were expecting to find a giant space station and no Alderaan?  My mother would have let you go your own way as soon as we landed if things had gone to plan—” Luke argued, leaping to his mother’s defense.  Han cut him off, waving his hand in aggravation in the direction of the door.

“Well, they didn’t.  And now we’re stuck here while she runs around in the open on a giant station crawling with Imperials.”

Luke felt his indignation spike at Han’s continued skepticism, especially when it came to his mother.  Luke _knew_ she knew what she was doing, she had far more experience then Han did.  “I didn’t hear you give any ideas!” Luke snapped.

“Well anything’s better than just hanging around waiting for her to come and pick us up.”

“Why do you think—” Luke started to say, about to confront Han at his disbelief in Zelina’s ability to shut off the tractor beam.  Before he could finish his sentence, Artoo suddenly erupted into excited beeps over by the computer, drawing his attention away from Han and over to the droids.  “What is it?”

Threepio turned to answer him.  “I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, sir.  He says I’ve found her and keeps repeating she’s here.”

Her?  Artoo couldn’t mean his mother, he wouldn’t be that excited, and considering everyone knew what his mother was doing…

“Well…who?  Who has he found?” Luke asked curiously, making his way over to the droids.

“Princess Leia.”

Surprise snapped Luke into full, alert attention, eyes widening as he processed the news.  “The Princess, she’s _here_?”

“Princess?” Han asked in confusion.  Luke ignored him, all his attention now on Artoo.

“Where, where is she?”

“Princess?  What’s goin’ on?” Han continued to insist.

Luke continued to ignore.

“Level five, detention block AA23,” Threepio translated from Artoo’s rapid beeping.  “I’m afraid she’s scheduled to be terminated.”

 _Terminated_.  The conversation Luke had with his mother on the _Falcon_ played through Luke’s mind in vivid color, how Leia was the adopted daughter of the man who’d saved his mother’s life during the purges, who had been friends with his birth mother, how Zelina had considered rescuing Leia a priority.  Now, with Alderaan gone, the very least he could do…

“We’ve got to do something!” Luke announced firmly.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Han asked in worried irritation, coming over to stand by Luke and the droids as Luke took a step towards Han.

“The droids belong to her, she’s the one who asked for our help—we have to help her!” he explained in a rush, part of him hoping that would be all he needed to tell Han, but part of him already knowing it would probably take a little more.

“Now, look, don’t get any funny ideas, your mother wants us to wait right here,” Han returned sternly, taking a seat by the monitors.  Luke felt annoyance flicker across his face.

“She didn’t know she was here!  Besides, my mother’s been talking about rescuing her since we heard the Empire captured her.  If she knew the Princess was here, she’d have come up with a plan to rescue her,” Luke argued, turning back to the droids.  “See if you can find us a way into the detention block.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Han snapped, setting his feet up on the desk.

“They’re gonna execute her!” Luke stressed, leaning over Han.  “Look, a few minutes ago you said you didn’t want to just wait here to be captured, now all you want to do is _stay_?”

“Marching into the detention area is _not_ what I had in mind!”

“But they’re gonna _kill_ her!”

“Better her than me!”

Luke had to force himself to step away from the argument as Han turned his back on Luke, with Luke putting his back to Han as well while he re-evaluated his argument, trying to think what he wanted to do now.  He could leave and attempt the rescue on his own, but a part of him knew that wouldn’t work out in his favor.  He could also leave on his own and simply bet on Han’s fear of what Luke’s mother would do to him if something happened to Luke while Han was supposed to be sticking with him.  Maybe that was strong enough to make Han follow, even if it took a few minutes.

But he also didn’t want to depend on fear, either.  Fear was a dark side tool, not a Jedi’s tool.

_Or I could always try bribery._

Luke turned back to the disgruntled smuggler, leaning over his chair.  “You won’t get the rest of your payment if we don’t rescue her.”

Han only laughed.  “I don’t think that’s your decision, Kid—that’s not gonna work.”

Luke shook his head.  “My mother was going to have Bail Organa pay you the rest—if he’s gone, then Princess Leia is the only one left for you to get your payment.”  That made Han pause, the smuggler going still after his head tilted just so in Luke’s direction.  He was listening, but he still needed a bit more of a push for Luke to convince him.  “Besides, rescuing her might come with a reward from the Rebellion, too.  A reward, plus what you’re being paid for transporting us.  That’s quite a bit of money, don’t you think?  You could pay off Jabba and still have plenty of credits to do whatever you want with.”

Han studied Luke closely for several long moments before he pointed a warning finger at Luke’s nose.  “All right, Kid, you better be right about this.”

Luke felt satisfying relief from the victory rush through him, rubbing his hands together as he pulled away, considering what came next.  “All right…”

“What’s your plan?” Han asked as Luke looked over what was available to them in the room.  He spotted a set of binders over by Threepio, and felt a plan starting to form in his mind, pointing towards the binders.

“Um…Threepio, hand me those binders, there, will ya?”  Threepio did as he was asked, and Luke undid the binders as he approached Chewbacca.  “Okay…now, I’m gonna put these on you—”

Chewbacca roared angrily at the proposal, causing Luke to leap back out of the way of the Wookiee’s swinging arms on a self-preservation instinct, hand shooting out to offer the binders to Han.

“Ah…okay, Han, y-you put those on.”

Han smirked at Luke’s failed attempt, walking over to the Wookiee and sliding the binders on him without any resistance.  “Don’t worry, Chewie, I think I know what he has in mind,” Han reassured him.  Luke picked up his stolen blaster and helmet, already making his way to the control room door.  Before they could leave, Threepio’s concerned voice stopped them.

“Ah, Master Luke, sir, pardon me for asking, but what should Artoo and I do if we’re discovered here?”

“Lock the door,” Luke answered with a smirk, as if it should be obvious.

“And hope they don’t have blasters,” Han added as Luke opened the door and they all started to file out of the room.

“That isn’t very reassuring,” Luke heard Threepio mutter before he shut the door behind them.

He pulled on the helmet again, doing his best to adjust it so he could see out of it a little better.  Han pulled on his helmet as well, the two of them taking up the front on either side of Chewbacca, who was now playing the part of escorted prisoner.  Every now and then Han would wander ahead, though Luke let him, choosing to instead stay by Chewbacca’s side and keep up the pretext that he was the one keeping the Wookiee in line, though the idea was laughable in Luke’s mind.

They received several odd looks on their way to the detention center, though to Luke’s relief, those looks were mostly over the strange sight of a Wookiee being escorted through the space station, and not out of any kind of suspicion that they didn’t belong on the station.

Luke was just glad no one was around to see Chewbacca scare a little mouse droid away with his roar.

Even though the entire time they walked, Luke continued to tweak his spur-of-the-moment plan, he didn’t dare share his mental adjustments with Han while they roamed the halls.  If he’d been walking with his mother, he would have been giving her little nudges in the Force to let her know he’d thought of something.  Han, however, wasn’t Force Sensitive, so Luke simply had to wait until they had a chance to speak, most likely in the lift on the way down to the detention center.

When they made it to the lifts, Han managed to keep anyone from joining them inside simply by gesturing towards the giant Wookiee that they were escorting, without any questions.

Not many people wanted to be in a tight space with a potentially angry Wookiee, understandably.

As soon as the doors slid shut and they were alone, Luke spoke up.

“I was thinking about the plan—”

“It’s not gonna work,” Han grumbled.

Luke resisted the urge to gripe about Han not expressing that concern back when he went along with the plan, instead choosing to spend what little time they had in the lift wisely.

“No, they probably won’t fall for the bluff, and we probably can’t just escort the princess without drawing attention.  We just need to get out of the block without drawing attention and get something to disguise her.”

“And how the hell do you plan to do that, Kid?” Han asked incredulously.

“Well…” Luke said hesitantly, but before he could propose any ideas, the doors to the lift slid open, and they were stuck improvising.

Hopefully this didn’t go horribly wrong.

Luke and Han stepped into the room first, Chewbacca following close behind as the Imperials inside turned to see who the new arrivals were.  Luke could see two standing by the hallway that led to the cells, the Lieutenant that was standing at the monitors, and one standing a little ways down the hallway.

As Han, Luke, and Chewbacca came to a stop in the detention center, the Lieutenant slowly turned to face them.  “Where are you taking this… _thing_?”

“Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138,” Luke answered confidently.

The Lieutenant’s eyes narrowed at the statement, and Luke could feel suspicion quickly thickening around the man in the Force.  “I wasn’t notified…I’ll have to clear it,” he said skeptically, gesturing for the two guards standing by the hall to approach Han, Luke, and Chewbacca.

Luke’s gaze tracked the officer, a warning in the Force telling him not to let the man activate the communications unit or they would be caught.  He had to act _now_ , before the guards even had the chance to reach them.

Luke quickly nudged Chewbacca with his elbow as a signal, grip tightening on the blaster in his hands a split second before Chewbacca let loose an ear-splitting roar and swung his arms up, appearing to break the binders that had been loose on his wrists the whole time.

“Look out, he’s loose!” Han shouted for show as Chewbacca ‘forcibly’ took the large gun Han had been twirling about as they walked through the halls.

“I got him!” Luke shouted for effect as well, jumping to the side as if to get out of range of Chewbacca’s arms before he fired at the Lieutenant, managing to take out the Imperial in one shot and without blasting a hole in his uniform.

After that, it was pretty much chaos, with the three off them alternating between shooting out the cameras and shooting at the other three Imperials in the detention block, trying to be quick about it so no one would get shot and if anyone happened to be looking at the security feed for this particular detention block, they wouldn’t see that the block had been infiltrated.

While Luke spent more time focusing on cameras and any alarms he could see, Han and Chewbacca were opening fire at the other Imperials in the detention block, taking a shot at the security systems every now and then as well.  Within what felt like seconds, the fight was over, and the block was entirely silent.

Luke hurried over to the controls, pulling the Lieutenant off of the desk, allowing Han access to the controls as Luke stepped away to do a quick survey of the carnage they’d left behind.

“Not bad, Kid,” Han commented as he leaned over the desk.  “We gotta find out which cell this princess of yours is in…Here it is, 2187.  You go and get her; Chewie and I will watch the lifts.”

Luke gave Han a quick thumbs up, then hurried down the hall, gaze roaming the walls as he looked for the right cell number.  They had to be quick and get Leia out before anyone noticed something was wrong and sent a squad up to investigate.

At least if they managed to attract Imperial attention while breaking the Princess out, it would help draw attention away from his mother and what she was doing.

Luke slid to a stop when he finally saw the cell, slamming his hand down on the control panel to open the door before hurrying inside.  He faltered when he set eyes on the Princess in person for the first time, momentarily dumbfounded as the beautiful young woman woke up, pushing herself up on her elbows and looking at him with a cautious, critical gaze.  The silence stretched a few beats too long and the Princess put a hand on her hip, cocking an eyebrow at him challengingly.

“Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?”

Luke was taken aback by her question.  “Huh?  Oh, the uniform!”  Pulling off the helmet, Luke stepped forward.  “I’m Luke Skywalker, I’m here to rescue you!”

“You’re who?” she asked in confusion, though she did slide into a sitting position on the edge of the metal slab she’d been lying on.

“I’m here to rescue you—I’ve got your R2 unit, you sent for my mother, Zelina Du’ahn—” Luke started to explain.  He should have just led with his mother’s name, because Leia’s reaction was instant.

“Zelina Du’ahn?  Where is she?” she asked, snapping to her feet and coming even with him.

“C’mon!” Luke said simply in answer, leading her out of the cell and down the hall.  Han’s head appeared around the corner at the sound of their footsteps.

“See you found your Princess, Kid, now how exactly do you plan on us smuggling her out of here?” Han asked as Luke and Leia made their way down the steps.

This time he’d had a few moments to think about it, and his shot earlier had actually given them a decent opportunity.

Luke turned to Leia, backstepping over towards the Lieutenant’s body.  “You don’t mind impersonating an Imperial Officer for a little while, do you?”

Leia looked doubtful at the idea, but she was already moving towards the Lieutenant Luke clearly wanted her to impersonate.  “I’m not sure that’s a ruse that will last long.”

“It just needs to get us most of the way, not all the way,” Luke said, looking over her head towards Han with a shrug.  The smuggler looked exasperated.

“You’re making this whole thing up as we go along, aren’t you?”

“Ah…”

“Great.  You’re gonna get us all killed.”

“Hey, I’ve gotten us this far, haven’t I?”

“You two sure are inspiring rescuers,” Leia chipped in sarcastically, the Lieutenant’s uniform draped over her arms.  “It’ll only take a moment to get in this uniform, and then from here on out, _I’ll_ lead the rescue, got it?”

“Listen, Your Worshipfullness, let’s get one thing straight, I take orders from just one person—me.”

“Yet from the sounds of things, you’ve been following someone you call k _id._ Even then, he seems to be the brains here,” Leia said pointedly before she disappeared back into the hall so the two wouldn’t see her changing.

Han turned back to Luke, a scowl fixed on his face.  “No reward is worth this.”

Luke hid a smug smile, pulling his stormtrooper helmet back on to help hide his reaction.  “I don’t know, she might have a point…” he said leadingly.

“Watch it, Kid, or I’ll make sure you float home,” Han griped.

Luke held back a chuckle, turning it into a cough as he turned to see Leia reappear dressed in the Lieutenant uniform.  She had the hat situated carefully between the buns on either side of her head, and it seemed like she’d tucked parts of her dress on the inside to try and fill in any space left in the officer’s uniform that unsurprisingly wasn’t a perfect fit.  She still managed to make it look like it was meant for her and was even smoothing out a crease as she made her way down the stairs.

“We need to get moving, before they realize the cameras aren’t working and send a squad,” Leia announced in a no-nonsense tone, already marching towards the door in a stiff manner that imitated the way Luke had seen Imperials walking around the station.  Seeing that, Luke wasn’t that stressed about having Leia lead the way.  Maybe with a Lieutenant appearing to lead them, they wouldn’t draw as much suspicion leading a cuffed Wookiee _away_ from the detention centers.

At least until someone came by this detention block and found the stripped Lieutenant and handful of other Imperial bodies…as well as the empty cell.

Luke didn’t hesitate to fall into step just behind the princess, turning back around and spreading his arms wide in a ‘what are you waiting for’ gesture when Han didn’t immediately follow.  The smuggler dragging his feet in reluctance now that the plan he already hadn’t been entirely on board with had been hijacked by the Princess.

* * *

_I remember a time…when I laughed at the idea…of me acting as a spy.  And while I may not be looking for any information or anything like that, all this sneaking around in the shadows to sabotage the tractor beam sure feels like spy work._

_And when we join up with the Rebellion, there will probably be plenty of undercover and spy like missions I’m going to be a part of…looks like I did end up becoming a spy of some sort._

Zelina’s amused thoughts flickered through her mind as she quietly navigated the halls of the space station, keeping to the shadows and sending out small, carefully restrained probes in the Force to pick the emptiest halls, and using gentle mind tricks every now and then when she couldn’t avoid crossing paths with an Imperial.  If she hadn’t been so worried about not raising the alarm, she wouldn’t have even been sending out the probes after she’d sensed that darkness when they were first pulled into the station.  She had her priorities, however, and right now she needed to get that tractor beam shut down.

Still, knowing something—or rather, some _one—_ was exuding that much dark energy meant that she was also keeping tabs on Luke in the Force, wanting to make sure the young man was staying out of trouble.  Or rather, since he was a Skywalker and she knew just how attractive that gene was to trouble, she was making sure that darkness stayed away from him.

However, it seemed Luke, Han, and Chewbacca weren’t staying in the control room like she’d hoped they would, as she could sense them—namely Luke—moving through the station.  Part of her was tempted to try and hunt them down and drag them back to the control room, but the fact that doing so would be a waste of precious time stopped her.  As did a feeling that if they’d left the control room, it had to be for a reason.

And Luke’s presence seemed to be burning with a sudden, focused purpose.

Keeping track of Luke in the back of her mind, as well as staying alert for the source of the darkness she sensed earlier, used a little more of her attention than she would have liked while trying to move through the station’s halls undetected.  She’d done well so far, however, so she tried not to let herself worry over it too much.  In fact, she’d finally reached the service trench that the terminals for the main reactor were located, and they were disturbingly empty.

Wouldn’t there be at least one guard down here, or were the Imperials just that cocky?  She wasn’t about to believe it was just luck.

Taking sure steps with just enough caution that she made sure she didn’t slip and plummet to her death in the chasm below because she got too hasty, Zelina shimmied her way around the terminal, taking in the controls in front of her as she tried to decide how she wanted to go about getting rid of the power.  She could take a very Anakin like route and simply shove her lightsaber through it, or she could take an Obi-Wan route and simple mess with the settings.

Or she could sort of do both.

Keeping her hearing carefully attuned to any possible intruders, Zelina started making adjustments to the terminal’s settings, messing with some controls she wasn’t entirely sure what they did, but also turning off the power.  Then, just to be a pain and hopefully slow down any repairs a little further, she started using Force Enhanced pulls, yanks, and twists to break off the knobs and levers to the controls, letting them drop down into the cavern below her.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps reached her ears, enough to make her freeze in place as she turned her attention away from being destructive and back towards her surroundings.  A small squad of stormtroopers were passing down the catwalk, the only thing keeping them from seeing her the terminal itself.  Most of the stormtroopers moved on, but two remained.

Maybe they were the guards that she’d noticed were absent.

“Do you know what’s going on?” one of them asked.

“Maybe it’s another drill.”

Zelina frowned, slowly and quietly making her way around the terminal in the direction opposite their voices.  Had Luke’s little group caught the Imperial’s attention?  Did she need to find them and intervene?

Turning her attention back to Luke, Zelina gently prodded at the area she could sense him in the Force, trying to get a feel for what he was doing.

She was surprised to sense another presence in their group, and not a malicious one, either.  Not to mention, it was a presence that stirred an old memory, though for the life of her, she couldn’t recall what that memory was.

If she’d encountered whoever was with them, it had to have been fleeting, and a long time ago.

Deciding to trust Luke knew what he was doing—for the most part—she focused instead on making her way back to the _Falcon_.  Luke would know to meet her there.

Zelina peeked around the corner just enough to spot the two stormtroopers she had to sneak past, reaching out into the corridor opposite the one she wanted to escape down.  Picking a light, Zelina gave it a rough shove in the Force, causing it to go out with an audible crash, drawing the attention of both stormtroopers.  While they were distracted, Zelina easily slipped into the corridor and out of sight.

* * *

Honestly, they made it much farther than Luke had expected them to before they ran into trouble.

Leia had done well leading them through the base like they belonged, and she knew where they were going because Luke and Han had managed to remember to tell her while they were still in the lift.  Any time someone of a rank lower than Lieutenant seemed to be giving them an odd look, she even managed to return it with a scathing or challenging leer, making them quickly turn away and mind their own business.

Of course, that didn’t work when they were confronted by a Lieutenant-Commander.

“Hold it,” the Imperial snapped, causing their small group to pause reluctantly as he stepped into their path.  He was flanked by two stormtroopers as well, who held their blasters at the ready as the Commander studied them suspiciously.

Leia stayed standing straight, meeting his critical gaze head on without any visible signs of doubt.  Luke, meanwhile, was trying not to fidget from nerves, though he was pretty sure Han wasn’t succeeding at a similar inner battle, since the smuggler was fingering the trigger of his blaster.

“Where are you going with this prisoner?” the Commander asked suspiciously.

“It’s being transferred to Kessel, Sir.  We’re taking it to its transport,” Leia responded in a crisp tone.

 _Not entirely unbelievable_ , Luke thought.

The Commander arched an eyebrow, glancing at Chewbacca with disdain in his gaze.  “Is that so…because a command was sent through the ranks that no one is to leave the station until an all clear signal is announced.”

_Well…so much for that…_

Leia didn’t grimace or give any other reaction that would have instantly given them away, but Luke could see in her eyes she knew they were caught.  It didn’t stop her from trying to dig them out of their situation.

“I apologize, Commander, the notice must have come through after we started the transfer,” Leia said smoothly.

The Commander hummed, taking a step closer.  Luke felt a warning hum through the Force, but instead of reacting with the blaster in his hands, he found his free hand inching towards where his lightsaber was hidden.

“There was also a Lieutenant that was killed…and his uniform stolen,” the Commander said coldly.

The stormtroopers raised their blasters, as did Han, with Chewie ‘breaking’ the binders again so he was free to fight.  Luke, however, pulled out his lightsaber and activated the blade as the stormtroopers opened fire, forcing his way between Leia and the Commander while he deflected the shots that would have been a direct hit on Han and himself.  One of the deflected bolts soared right back into the stormtroopers, while Han shot down the other.  Luke, being right in front of the Commander, easily cut the man down with a simple sweep of his blade.

The fight was over as quickly as it began, the sound of Luke’s lightsaber deactivating apparently being the sign that it was time to speak.

“I don’t think these disguises are going to be much help anymore,” Han commented sourly.

“You didn’t mention you were a Jedi!” Leia exclaimed accusingly.

“Um…Jedi in training.  And it didn’t come up?” Luke answered.  “But that doesn’t matter right now—it sounds like they know we’re here.”

“I suggest we stop chatting and get moving before more Imps show up,” Han cut in, yanking off his helmet.

“What are you doing?  We might still be able to—”

“Kid, they already know.  No point in running around in them anymore.”

He had a point.  Luke would have liked to think they could slip by unnoticed in the uniforms a little longer, but if the station was already alerted that they were running around in disguise…

Luke pulled off his helmet, letting it drop to the floor.  “Fine…I can’t see anything in that helmet, anyway.  Come on.”

They didn’t waste time peeling out of the armor in the middle of the hallway, simply left the helmets behind and kept the armor on for the time being.  Getting all the armor off was at the bottom of their priority list.

They tried to stick to the emptier halls on their way back to the hanger, with Luke telling them which turn to take every now and then when he received a prompting from the Force.  Han stopped arguing with him about it after they made it down several halls without running into stormtroopers.

Eventually, they managed to find their way to the level above the hangar bay, a small viewport allowing them to look down and see the _Falcon_ down below.  There was a squad of stormtroopers circling it, no doubt to keep them from boarding the ship, but if they were careful, they still had a chance to get past the stormtroopers and onto the ship so they could get out.

Luke just hoped his mother would be there when they were ready to leave.  He’d sensed her in the back of his mind, maybe even sensed her checking up on him every now and then, but he didn’t sense her in the hangar below, which told him she was still making her way back if she’d already sabotaged the tractor beam.

“There she is,” Han announced, and it took Luke a moment to realize that no, Han had not just read his mind, Han was talking about the _Falcon_ down below.

Speaking of other passengers that needed to meet them at the ship…

Luke pulled out his com unit, using it to reach out to the droids they’d left in the control room.  “See-Threepio, do you copy?”

“Yes, Sir,” came the thankfully prompt reply.

“Are you safe?”

“For the moment.  We’re in the main hanger across from the ship.”

 _Good_.

“We’re right above you, stand by.”

As Luke put the com back in its place, Leia turned to Luke and Han, pointing towards the _Falcon_ down below.  “You came in _that_ thing?  You’re braver than I thought.”

“Nice.  Come on,” Han grumbled, taking a sharp turn and leading the way down the hall on the right of the viewport.  Luke somehow ended up in the back even though he’d been the one telling them which turns to make, with Chewbacca right behind Han and Leia staying in front of Luke.

Up ahead, as Han took a quick right turn into another hall, a stormtrooper’s voice suddenly reached Luke’s ears.

“It’s them!  Blast them!”

The stormtrooper hardly had time to bark out the command before Han shot first, opening fire on what had to be a squad of stormtroopers.  Luke rushed up to the front of their group to see what was happening, but Han was already chasing the squad down the hall with Chewbacca close behind.

“Get back to the ship!” Han shouted as he disappeared around the corner.

“Where are you going?” Luke called back in protest over the sound of blaster fire echoing through the halls.  There was no reply, and Han and Chewbacca had already disappeared.  Luke had to struggle to stifle his annoyance as he turned back to Leia, who was standing at his side.

“He certainly has courage,” she remarked once the sound of Han’s blaster disappeared.

“What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?” Luke muttered, gently grasping her arm to pull the Princess in the opposite direction.  “Come on.”

He was able to lead them through a few more halls without any trouble, before the sound of stormtroopers coming up fast from behind reached him.  He turned just enough to confirm that the squad was heading their way before urging Leia to move faster, taking aim as the stormtroopers as they appeared around the corner and laying down suppressing fire.

It was a combination of a warning from the Force and Leia’s arm stopped Luke from plowing forward right into the sudden drop that was where the bridge was supposed to be.  Luke’s arms shot out on instinct as he attempted to regain his balance, looking around in concern.

“I think we took a wrong turn,” he admitted sheepishly.

He’d just had time to regain his balance when a blaster bolt flew past his head, snapping his attention back to the threat behind them.  His hand went right to his lightsaber, while the other offered Leia the blaster.

“You need that more than me,” he said simply as she took the blaster from him.  Something told him she knew just how to handle a blaster.  “See if you can get the bridge up, I’ll hold them off.”

Luke shifted aside to give her more room, and to put some more distance between her and where his lightsaber might travel.  The squad of stormtroopers rushed towards them once they saw that the two couldn’t go any further, but the two at the front hesitated once Luke ignited his lightsaber, placing himself between them and the Princess.

Some over-eager stormtrooper in the back opened fire, causing the others to open fire as well on instinct.  Luke let the Force take over, pushing down the fact this was the most people firing at him at once he’d ever had to handle, and this time it was full power shots instead of shots meant to only sting.  His blade found just where it needed to be to keep the shots at bay, falling back on the Djem So form to let him send those shots back at the advancing troopers.  It seemed they hadn’t quite realized that if he could deflect their shots, he was trained well enough to take care of them if they got too close.

A loud mechanical sound behind him told him that the bridge was expanding, and he turned just enough to confirm by sight that was what was happening.

“Go, I’ll cover you,” he told Leia.  She stepped as if she was about to do just that, but quickly had to take cover as another squad appeared in a doorway up above, firing down at the pair.

Luke cursed, stepping forward and sending the stormtroopers that remained in the pursuing squad flying backwards, which allowed him to turn and deflect the shots of those up above.  Leia fired at them between Luke’s deflecting shots, the two of them managing to get at least three.  If there were more, they didn’t try to fill in the open spots their deceased fellow stormtroopers left.  Which meant Leia could finally cross the bridge while Luke took care of what was left of their pursuers.

They’d advanced while Luke had been deflecting the shots from above, so as he turned to take care of them, he let the Force guide his motions, and found himself cutting through a trooper that had been about to grab them from behind, apparently deciding that shooting at him wasn’t the smartest idea.  His partner tried to slam the back of his blaster into Luke’s head, but Luke backstepped and ducked away.  Before he could swing at the second trooper with his lightsaber, a blaster shot sounded, and the stormtrooper dropped.

Luke looked back to see Leia pulling the blaster she’d just fired back, one hand on her hip.  “Are you coming?”

A small smile flickered across Luke’s face, deactivating his lightsaber before he followed her across the bridge and into the hall.

After that, it was only a matter of getting to the _Falcon_ and hoping the other three parts of their group would meet them there.

* * *

It seemed like the Imperials were putting all their attention on Luke’s group, considering the halls that Zelina traveled were almost empty until she started getting closer to the _Falcon_.  Then she started seeing stormtroopers—entire squads—and officers in the halls instead of the occasional droid or passerby.

Whatever Luke had gotten himself into had agitated the hive.  They’d be leaving under heavy fire.

Zelina pulled into the shadows as another squad passed by, blending in easily with her dark cloak and some help from the Force.  As the squad passed by unaware of her presence, she managed to catch a snippet of conversation.

“We think they may be splitting up; they may be on level five and six now, Sir.”

_They’re getting close to the Falcon, then.  I need to pick up the pace if I’m going to meet them there._

Once the squad had passed, Zelina slipped back out of the shadows and continued, her steps a lot faster now that she knew she had a window of time she had to work with.  She stepped back into the shadows whenever she needed to, but otherwise simply rushed through the maze of halls, following little promptings from the Force when she wasn’t sure which way to go.

At the same time, she could feel that darkness she’d sensed earlier getting stronger…closer…

Until at one point she realized that in order to get to the _Falcon_ , she was going to have to go through it, because it knew where she was.

She had to repress the shiver that wanted to slither down her spine at the thought, instead reaching for one of her lightsabers in preparation.

The halls grew eerily quiet as she felt her goal grow steadily closer, until she knew with certainty that the _Falcon_ was practically right around the corner.  It was at that moment that the source of that darkness revealed itself.

As Zelina came around one of the curved corners of the hall she came to a stop, taking in the tall figure draped in black that was suddenly standing in her path.

Her first thought was a darkness that was the embodiment of the Void itself.  Every inch of the figure was dressed in black, from the knee-high boots and elbow-high gloves, to the tunic and tabard tucked into the belt, from the hooded cloak attached to the figure’s shoulders by disk shaped clasps to the breastplate that covered half the figure’s chest—not a full breastplate like Zelina’s which covered her entire torso, but one that covered just the ribcage region, where the heart and lungs would be—and had a harsh red glow emitting from the bottom middle of the breastplate.  The hood of the cloak was drawn, shielding the figure’s face, but even then, she should have been able to see at least part of the face, such as the chin or mouth.

She couldn’t.  A metal mask of pitch black covered the being’s face in a way that made it so only the glowing yellow eyes could be seen from beneath the hood.

Just like her, the figure already held a single lightsaber in its hand, though it’s was ignited, the blood red blade ready for a fight.

All around her the Force seemed to be thrumming in anticipation, the energy she could feel in the hall alone enough to make her want to coil and pounce into battle.  It took far more effort than she was willing to admit to keep from acting on that energy fed impulse, as she instead undid her cloak and let it drop to the ground so she would be hindered by it, the dark figure approaching her as she did so.

She tried not to think about how it had been roughly twenty years since she fought a Sith, tried not to think of how it had been roughly ten years since she’d had a sparring partner other than Luke.  She knew she was out of practice, but she was not in as desperate of a situation as she could have been.

“Come to die, Jedi?”

It took Zelina a moment to realize the voice had come from the figure, and not some cold, dark corner of her mind.  It reverberated with a metallic sound, clearly modified by the mask, but in a deep, bone chilling sound clearly meant to strike fear.

There were a million answers she could give to the simple question, but of them all, there was only one she could think to reply with.

“I’m no Jedi,” she said lowly, dark violet blade snapping to life before she dropped down into a half-crouched, at the ready stance, coiled like a spring about to be released.

Even though the figure was still at a distance, they were clearly taller than her—even if it was by a little—and probably had more physical strength as well.  This would be one of those fights where she needed to rely on the techniques she’d taught Luke…which would be a switch from the past ten years where she’d been significantly taller than her sparring partner.

 _Don’t think about that,_ she chastised herself, gaze fixated on the dark figure before her.  _Just focus on winning this fight and getting off this station._

She was ready for this dark sider, but she didn’t make the first move.  She wanted to see how they attacked and adjust her plan of attack as necessary.

She didn’t have to wait long.

After a few tense moments of the two Force Users staring each other down and sizing each other up, the dark figure lunged towards her, blade twirling expertly in a form she knew well from all her spar sessions not only with Anakin, but Luke as well.

Zelina met the Djem So attack with confidence, the two lightsabers clashing midair as she raised her lightsaber in a firm block similar to the one she’d been showing Luke on the _Falcon_.  She was quick to establish she wasn’t above more below-the-belt tactics, sliding down the length of the dark sider’s lightsaber with her own as she tucked her shoulder low and plowed into them, knocking them back several steps.  She had to do a quick block behind her back as they tried to assault the brief opening, using the position to her advantage as she pushed the lightsaber up into the air and lashed out with a kick to the knee at the same time.  The figure grunted, and she felt a fury begin to bubble within them.

Her lightsaber was knocked down by a powerful blow, making her shift her stance and come up with a slash before they could.  She took a step back, taking a moment to re-evaluate the situation and get away from the vulnerable position.  As the dark sider readjusted their position as well, Zelina twirled her blade loosely in her hand, deciding that the up-close and personal, aggressive assault was only going to wear her out if she kept it up.

Again, the dark sider charged her, but not in a blind, overly confident fury.  It was calculated and controlled, the kind of attack that she couldn’t entirely dodge in close quarters but wouldn’t do well trying to hold firm against.  She instead only stepped partially aside to redirect the attack, expecting the dark sider to overstep and leave a brief opening.  Instead, as she deflected the blade and stepped out of their way, the dark sider seemed to move with her momentum, turning to face her again as they came even with her and rolling their lightsaber with hers, managing to get the upper hand and knock her blade aside.  Zelina had to lean back as the dark sider took a swipe at her head, retreating a few steps back down the hall to again put distance between them.

They had fury fueling powerful attacks.  They had agility and aggression, tactic and precision.

_Enough prodding._

This time Zelina moved first, coming at the dark sider with a flurry of attacks, striking towards the left, the right shoulder, the waist, the chest, the neck.  Each time she found her blade blocked, and usually had to deflect an attack from the dark sider as well before trying for a different spot.

Their purple and violet blades moved in blurs that formed arches through the air rather than appearing as single blades, their speed increased as their experimental prodding at one another bled away.

Zelina grabbed at the wrist holding the red lightsaber, and almost failed to execute the move she had in mind when she found that what lay beneath the glove was not the slightly giving density of human skin, but solid and hard, like metal.

She quickly had to push the discovery aside as she rolled around the dark sider, trying to bring their arm up and around with her to force them into an awkward and exposed position with their arm around the back of their neck.  They managed to roll with her, their lightsaber dropping to the other hand and coming up to block her descending blade before pushing her back and straightening themselves.

Now the dark sider was between her and the hangar bay again.

Frustrated at the slight set-back, Zelina didn’t hesitate to advance again, determined to push her way to the hangar.  She started in a charge towards the dark sider, who seemed to be bracing for the brunt of her charge before she suddenly changed trajectories, using the same tactic she’d used in the fight against Maul and Savage years ago.  She ran towards the wall, planting a foot against it and kicking off to come at the dark sider from above and the side, a move they unfortunately still blocked, though she was able to tuck and roll behind them, coming up in a low, wide crouch with lightsaber humming in front of her, one hand splayed on the floor.  She was close to the door of the hangar now—closer than her opponent, at least—but she had to push up and meet them again as they came down on her with just as much speed as before, pushing her once more into the defensive.  They fell into another rapid-fire exchange of blows as they both tried to come at each other from different angles only to be stopped by the other’s lightsaber again and again.

Their blades crossed, with the dark sider pushing down on Zelina’s blade until both tips were touching the ground.  She let go with one of her hands, coming up with a solid punch to the face that made the dark sider reel back…

…and made her hand scream in pain.  She really should have remembered the metal mask before going into that instinctive move.

In her momentary distraction from pain, the dark sider pushed out a hand, and Zelina found herself flung down the rest of the hall and landing with a painful crunch against the end wall.

On the bright side, she was now directly next to the hangar bay.

With her collision, Zelina suddenly felt the focus of a multitude of presences center on her, the majority of which were hostile.  She didn’t have the chance to properly examine them, because the dark sider was already bearing down on her again.  Getting to her feet was painful, and she only got halfway there before the dark sider was on her.  Her lightsaber was raised in a solid block even though she was on one knee, both hands on her lightsaber and pushing back against the attack.  Before she could lose her strength, she tapped into the Force to augment her movements and rocked back, then pushed forward with the burst of sudden strength to push her attacker back and give her enough time to get back on her feet.

She stepped back, falling into a defensive position, and in that moment was able to take in several important factors.

There was a squad of stormtroopers on her right, ready to intervene if this dark sider couldn’t beat her.

The rest of her party had reached the hangar.

Luke had spotted the fight, and was reaching out to her in the Force, ready to jump in and assist.

The last thing she wanted was for Luke to get tangled with this dark sider.  He didn’t have nearly enough experience for Zelina to feel comfortable with the prospect.

As the youth seemed to reach for his lightsaber, Zelina sent him a sharp reprimand through the Force, one that told him not to draw the weapon…though she didn’t stop him from drawing his blaster and opening fire on the stormtroopers, who were now thankfully distracted from her fight with the dark sider.

She needed to end this fight.  _Now_.

She didn’t need to win it, and she didn’t want to lose it.  She just needed to get _out_ of it.

“An apprentice?” the dark sider muttered, apparently catching the brief interaction between Luke and Zelina in the Force, even if they couldn’t decipher what it entailed.

Zelina took the statement as a distraction, charging at the dark sider with another wall running maneuver, except this time the dark sider was ready.  Much to Zelina’s alarm, the dark sider seemed to reach out and pluck her out of the air as she pushed off the wall, bringing her around and slamming her into the floor.  She felt a spike of fear from Luke but shook it off, quickly bringing her lightsaber around to block the rapidly descending red blade.  Her back was pressed against the floor, the dark sider’s glowing yellow eyes close enough she could see enough of the figure’s mask to see its angular contours and the many scratches and chips that showed the wear of many battles.  The lightsabers were both close enough to burn, and she knew she couldn’t hold the dark sider off with their superior strength in this close of quarters.

Shifting slightly to the side, Zelina suddenly shut her blade off, causing the red lightsaber to embed itself into the ground just above her shoulder.  It was still close enough to burn, but she ignored the pain in favor of getting away.  She swiftly rolled back around just enough to trap the being’s hand and lightsaber beneath her arm—something she only needed to hold for a few seconds.  Her other hand reached up and hooked around the being’s neck, pulling their head down.  The dark sider tried to pull back, but in doing so left themselves open to her next move.  As her feet came up to place themselves on either side of the dark sider’s waist, she lifted them, pushing them up and over her head with their own momentum.

The flip disarmed the dark sider in the process, and before either of them could fully process what was happening, she knocked the lightsaber down the hall on her left away from the hangar bay.  She rocked back so her feet were in the air and most of her weight was on her shoulders, hands planed on either side of her head, then pushed up, kicking back up onto her feet.

She didn’t bother with another attack that might engage her in more of a fight.  Instead, she made a sharp turn to rush towards the hangar, sparing a second to push out with her hands and send the dark sider—who had been calling their lightsaber back into their hands—rolling the opposite direction before she turned to face what was left of the stormtroopers.

There were screams for Luke to hurry and get on the _Falcon_ , but the young man hadn’t budged, still trying to pick off the stormtroopers to aid Zelina.  As she transitioned from fighting the dark sider to facing stormtroopers, one did manage to get her in the upper arm, and she stumbled back a step.  With a growl, Zelina reached out a hand and grabbed their blasters in the Force before making a fist and pulling them back in her direction.  Once they were all disarmed, she shoved forwards with another powerful push in the Force, sending what stormtroopers Luke hadn’t picked off into the gaping pit right behind them and clearing her way to the _Falcon_.

The dark sider was coming up fast behind her, and Zelina tucked into a forward roll to dodge a lightsaber throw that otherwise would have sliced cleanly through her, pulling out her second cyan blade and throwing it—ignited—at the control panel, causing the blast doors to slide shut behind her and keep the dark sider from reaching her.  At least for a few seconds before she boarded the _Falcon_.

Calling her lightsaber back into her hand, Zelina broke out in a sprint towards Luke and the others.

“Go!” she barked.  Luke was quick to follow her command only after she was almost even with him, the others having raced on board the ship as soon as the blast doors had shut.  Everyone else was much closer to the ship than she was, and as a result, the landing ramp was already lifting by the time she reached it, barely jumping onto the ramp and ducking inside as the _Falcon_ started to lift into the air and the landing ramp shut tightly behind her.


	10. Another Skywalker

As soon as the landing ramp shut behind her, Zelina dropped to the floor with a grunt, Luke already at her side with a hand on her uninjured arm. Part of her wanted to relax and give into the impression that she was safe, but she knew they hadn’t finished their escape quite yet.

“Are you all right?” Luke was asking her, looking torn between helping her to her feet and making sure she didn’t move from the spot she’d already found on the floor.

“I’ll be fine—I’m fine. Go see if Han needs us anywhere, we’re not out of this mess, yet,” Zelina told him with a slight wave of her hand. Luke still hesitated. “Go, I’ll still be here when we’re safe, I’m not going anywhere.”

Luke finally backed away, heading down the Falcon’s hall towards the cockpit at a fast walk, looking back her way every now and then. Once Luke couldn’t see her anymore, Zelina turned her attention to her minor injuries, looking over her lightsaber burn and blaster wound.

The bruises that would come out of the fight she’d had were the least of her problems, so she wasn’t thinking much about that right now.

While Zelina did a closer examination of her blaster wound, a new voice spoke up, startling Zelina from her narrowed focus to realize there was someone else in the room, someone new.

“That looks like it’s going to need some bacta.”

Right. The other presence that was with them in the station.

Zelina looked in the direction of the voice, expecting…well, she wasn’t really expecting anything other than someone feminine, but who she saw was definitely at the end of her list of who she would have expected to see.

She leaned back, taking a moment to really _look_ at her now that she was here in person, unable to help but compare the young woman to her mother and father in her mind. Defiant brown eyes beneath elegant eyebrows, long brown hair done in a way that was giving Zelina flashbacks to the day she’d found out about her impending birth, a stubborn set to her jaw that had the aura of her father but look of her mother…

“Princess Leia,” Zelina finally said, taking perhaps a little too long to get out the title before her name. The title was going to take some getting used to after so long just thinking of her as Leia, the other Skywalker Twin, the Skywalker Twin she couldn’t protect, Anakin and Padmé’s daughter. “I was wondering what the boys were doing running around the station.”

“You’re General Du’ahn, I take it,” Leia remarked as Zelina got to her feet. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstances.”

Luke reappeared around the corner, leaning just far enough into the room to catch Zelina’s attention. “Han wants us on the guns while he tries to get us to lightspeed.”

Zelina nodded, and Luke ducked back out to get in one of the gun wells. “We’ll have to get acquainted after we’ve jumped, I’m afraid,” Zelina told her already starting to follow Luke’s path.

“Wait, what about your arm?”

Zelina turned and removed her hand from over her blaster wound. “Already better,” she said with a reassuring smile. She’d been healing the injury through the Force as she spoke with Leia, and let the young woman see there was no longer a wound on her arm before she turned and hurried back down the hall.

Luke had already climbed down into the lower gun, so Zelina made her way up into the upper gun, letting her gaze rove over the controls as she got settled into the seat.

She hadn’t operated one of these before, and neither had Luke. Of course, Luke made himself more familiar with ships than Zelina did, so she was less worried about Luke getting the hang of the controls than she was herself. There was a headset that she put on first, hands tentatively finding their way to the steering, noting that the targeting computer was already firing up.

“You all strapped in?” Zelina asked, figuring Luke already had his headset on at least.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Luke confirmed.

“You two know how to use those guns, right?” came Han’s worried voice through the headset.

“We’re fast learners—and it looks pretty straight forward,” Zelina answered.

“The faster the better,” Han muttered.

“Here they come!” Luke interrupted.

The _Falcon_ was rocked by several explosions after Luke spoke, their sign that the Imperials hadn’t given up keeping them in the Alderaan system quite yet. Zelina only took a few moments to figure out how the motions work, figuring that the buttons on the top of the handles were the triggers for the gun. The motion for the seat was strange to her—she was used to stationary fighters—but it was something she would simply have to adjust to in the name of survival.

“There’s four of them I can see!” Han announced.

_Just four?_

Moments later, a TIE flew past the viewport, and though she knew she’d miss, Zelina fired at it, just to make sure she was right about the controls.

“Okay, I’ve got this, now,” she muttered to herself.

“You’re not very reassuring, there, Zel.”

“You know that’s not my real name,” Zelina quipped, hearing Luke fire at another TIE below her.

“Well, it’s what I’ve known you as for years, so it’s what I’m gonna call you.”

 _Now’s not the time for this discussion_ , Zelina chastised herself, focusing back on the moment so she could shoot down the TIE’s that were buzzing the _Falcon_. One flew past the viewport, but she didn’t fire, knowing it was going too fast in too tight of a corner opposite from where she’d been sitting, so she held back. Down below, she could hear Luke’s guns going off as she tried to get the battle focus only the Force could provide.

“They’re coming in too fast!” Luke suddenly shouted into the headset over the scream of TIE fighters.

“Luke, don’t trust your eyes,” Zelina admonished him, and his end of the headset fell eerily silent. She would have been worried if she hadn’t felt his Force Presence flare brighter as he started to seek the same battle focus Zelina was reaching for.

“We’ve lost lateral controls,” Zelina heard Leia announce up in the cockpit, followed by Chewbacca’s howl of confirmation.

“Don’t worry, she’ll hold together,” came Han’s quick reply. Zelina blocked them out, fingers flexing around the cockpit controls as she put all her focus on shooting down the TIE’s that were basically teasing them. They should have struck a fatal blow by now, but instead it was like they were some sort of feline playing with its food.

Zelina could make that analogy cause she’d seen a bored Ameenah eat.

Her stray thoughts almost distracted her from the tremor in the Force, but she managed to catch it in time, letting the Force guide her actions as her seat swiveled in place and she opened fire, getting a TIE right in the center on the second shot.

“Gotcha!” she said with a smirk, and a second later her even-toned exclamation was drowned out by Luke’s crow of victory.

“I got him!”

“That’s great, Kid—don’t get cocky,” Solo admonished, but both Jedi ignored the smuggler, staying immersed in the Force as they sought out the remaining two fighters that they could still hear screaming around the _Falcon_. Zelina’s chair swiveled lazily as she waited for the right moment to fire, eyes scanning the segment of space she could see through her viewport. She was itching to shoot down the TIEs and be done with it, more than ready to reach the Rebel Alliance, and impatient to finally sit down with Leia for the first time in nearly twenty years.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t even had the chance to hold the young woman when she was born—she’d only been able to catch a fleeting glimpse, and her arms had been occupied by Luke at the time…

_Not the time for stray thoughts, Zelina!_

Shaking herself back into the present, Zelina focused once more on seeking out the darting TIEs. Luke opened fire again below her, and Zelina braced for a TIE to appear in her viewport. She swiveled her chair instinctively—she was getting the hand of these controls—and she opened fire without thinking, the blasts scoring on what had to be a briefly very surprised TIE before the ship exploded in front of her. Down below, Zelina heard Luke give a victorious whoop as he shot down the last TIE.

“That’s it, we did it!” he cheered, and Zelina heard Leia happily echo Luke’s statement over the coms.

“Hold tight, we’re making the jump!” Han announced, and within seconds, the stars in front of Zelina’s viewport bled away into the mottled blue of hyperspace.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, removing her headset and letting the targeting computer in front of her power down. She rubbed at her eyes warily, her mind a mess of a thousand different thoughts, the same kind that had been plaguing her as she tried to focus on defending the Falcon.

She had one Skywalker she needed to sit down with and have a long talk with, another that was probably itching to make sure she was really all right and get debriefed about that fight on the Death Star…and a dark sider to ponder. Not to mention now that they were headed straight for the Rebel Alliance, she needed to start thinking about what they—as in her and Luke—were going to do when they arrived.

Luke was probably assuming they were going to sign onto the cause, that they would join as soon as they arrived…but Zelina had other plans.

The Republic had made her wary, and she’d seen what politics did to the Jedi Council.

Something tapped lightly on the ladder below her, and Zelina craned her neck back to see Luke staring up the gun well at her.

“Can we talk?” he asked. Zelina climbed out of her chair without a word, climbing down the ladder as Luke stepped out of the way and into the hall. As Zelina stepped out into the hall with him, he was tousling his hair, looking worried.

“Are you really all right?” he asked first, before she could even get a question of her own in.

“Yes, Luke, I’m fine—see, it’s already gone,” she said pointedly, showing him the smooth spot where the blaster wound had been previously. Her skin was still blistered where she’d been burned, but that would be another easy fix. She was also weary after all the heavy use of the Force, but she left that part out. She’d have time to recuperate before she had to use it again.

“Why didn’t you let me help?” Luke asked suddenly after it was established Zelina was physically all right. Her eyebrows rose substantially at the question.

“I don’t recall stopping you from firing at the stormtroopers, or interfering while you and the others were running around the station even though I told you to stay put. I’ll admit, it crossed my mind, but I figured you had your reasons—”

“I mean with that Sith,” Luke clarified.

_Ah._

That was what this was about.

“I had it handled, Luke,” she said calmly.

“But they almost—”

“Nothing you could have done would have made any difference, except maybe get yourself hurt, or worse, killed,” Zelina said sternly, cutting him off.

“I could have taken him!” Luke protested.

“That’s the kind of thinking that lost your father an arm at your age,” Zelina said sharply, and whatever protest Luke was about to continue with was cut short as his mouth snapped shut. “Luke, you have training, and you’re impressively capable and quick thinking, yes, but you lack the experience, and that’s the most important part. You need more experience before you try to go toe to toe with a Sith—they’re dangerous. Obi-Wan’s _master_ was killed by a Sith, _your father_ was killed by a Sith, _I_ was almost killed by a Sith more times than I’d like to admit. They’re a danger even for a fully trained Jedi Knight, and you’re _still learning_. _That’s_ why I didn’t want you stepping in.”

“How am I supposed to get experience, if you don’t let me fight?” Luke countered.

“Gradually. Starting closer to the bottom and working your way up,” Zelina said bluntly. “Train with Jedi other than me—Obi-Wan and Pria should be with the Rebellion, it will be a nice change of pace from always sparring with me. Get some experience out in the field against non-Force Sensitives, and then go against lower tier dark siders and work your way up.”

“What if it doesn’t work out that way?”

Zelina sighed, shaking her head. He had a point. That may be how Zelina wanted Luke to learn, but the universe was hardly that forgiving. “Then at least try not to face a Sith alone. Get help or get out of there. Okay?”

His mopey expression was in full effect, but he still nodded, looking more than a little put-out by what must have looked like a lack of faith in his abilities. Zelina reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling the young man into a warm side-embrace.

“That’s not to say you’re not talented for the training you do have. You have the potential to be a great Jedi—perhaps even greater than your father was. But that’s going to take time, and discipline. You’re already on your way. Look what you did today—you rescued a princess from a giant Imperial Space Station; that’s no small feat, and I’m proud of you.”

Luke glanced up at her, his presence rippling with an emotion close to bashfulness. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Zelina smiled at him, ruffling his hair.  “And that makes it even better.” She could sense Leia moving their way, apparently having left the cockpit, Han, and Chewbacca behind in irritation.  “Why don’t you go check up on Han and see where we’re going next--I need to talk to Leia for a little while,” she told him softly.

Luke nodded, making his way down the hall and towards the cockpit.  Leia appeared moments after Luke disappeared, the disgruntlement she’d felt in the young woman’s presence echoed on her face.  When Leia saw Zelina, however, she stopped.

“Are all your companions as selfish as him?” Leia huffed.

It didn’t take much to guess who she was talking about.

Zelina smirked, gesturing for Leia to follow her down the hall towards a more private corner of the _Falcon_. “Han’s an acquired taste, but he’s a good man,” Zelina told Leia. “I’m guessing he brought up payment?”

Leia’s scowl deepened, and Zelina took that as her answer. “To be fair to Han, he only signed up for a quick transport of two old friends to Alderaan, with a promise to be paid well enough to pay off a debt to a crime lord. He didn’t sign up for all the rebellious activity and rescuing…but he still helped,” she said pointedly.

Leia inclined her head, a sign she would give Han as much. Zelina ushered Leia towards the back cargo hold, knowing it wasn’t ideal but was probably the best they were going to get in the way of privacy. “I’m sure we’ve got some time before we land, and there’s clearly a lot I need to catch up on, if you don’t mind talking for a while.”

Leia seemed to shift from a semi-casual air to one of regal business, an impressive change that reminded Zelina of Padmé. “Of course. You probably have plenty of questions.”

Zelina led them towards a corner of the cargo hold they could have some privacy near the ship’s access grill, stepping aside to let Leia enter first before she followed close behind, shutting the bulkhead door behind them once she’d stepped inside. “I’m sure most of my questions would be answered if you simply start at the beginning.” Zelina took a seat on one of the many crates that dotted the hold, with Leia sitting opposite her. “Just start there, and I’ll try to hold my questions until the end.”

Leia was already schooling her expression to be carefully controlled before she even began recounting her tale, something that, had she not already had experience with politicians and seen Padmé do something similar for years, she would have taken as Leia being perfectly collected about what happened, rather than seeing it as a diplomatic mask being fit into place for the sake of professionalism.

“I wasn’t present for some of the events that brought us here, but what I do know is that the Alliance became aware of a super weapon that the Empire had built and was intending to set loose on the galaxy, one that could potentially destroy the Alliance. That weapon is the station we just escaped—the Death Star, capable of destroying entire planets, and yes, it can travel through hyperspace,” Leia said, notes of pain echoing in her presence, though the young Skywalker did well to keep it from outwardly showing. “There was a battle where we sustained heavy casualties trying to retrieve the plans in the hope there was a weakness we could exploit to destroy the Death Star—as far as I’m aware, all our forces that were sent to the planet’s surface were destroyed. I myself was in the fight, though I was only there to take the plans and deliver them as quickly as possible to you. Unfortunately, my ship was intercepted above Tatooine, which is why I sent the two droids instead of coming myself. Artoo is carrying those plans that so many Rebellion lives were lost attaining.”

Zelina wanted to ask why Leia had been sent to her with the plans, but she resisted traveling down the tangent for the moment, since she didn’t have the whole story yet. “I assume what happened to Alderaan was the Death Star’s doing, then?”

Leia’s presence tremored, and Zelina felt a flash of guilt at opening what must have still been a fresh wound, but she needed to hear the confirmation. “Yes…Governor Tarkin ordered Alderaan’s destruction, both to make me reveal the Alliance’s location, and as a demonstration of the Death Star’s capabilities.”

Zelina couldn’t help her instinctive reaction at the name she’d thought was buried in the past, simultaneously bristling as she blanched at the mention of Tarkin. One of Leia’s eyebrows rose slightly at her reaction.

“I take it you know him.”

“Unfortunately,” Zelina muttered. “I had to rescue the then _dear captain_ back during the Clone Wars. I really wanted to push him off a cliff or something along those lines, but he’d memorized valuable information…though information or not, I regretted not acting on those impulses when he tried to have a good friend of mine executed on false charges of treason later on in the war.”

Zelina had to forcibly pull herself out of the past, shaking her head and refocusing on the woman before her. “I should have known that serpent would survive the end of the Clone Wars—and find a high rank in the Empire, as well.” Her gaze softened, as did her tone. “I’m sorry for your loss, Leia. Truly. I knew your parents. It was a long time ago, but…I knew them.”

Once again, she found herself resulting to words laced with double meanings, unable to tell the young woman Zelina had known her birth parents for Leia’s own safety—and Luke’s. Hoping Leia wouldn’t catch onto the undertone of a hidden meaning, she pressed a little further to make it sound like she was simply talking about the Organas. “I’m not sure if anyone told you, but Bail smuggled myself and several other Jedi, including Master Kenobi, around the galaxy when the purge was carried out at the end of the war. And I know both your parents were dear friends with one of _my_ closest friends, Senator Amidala.”

Leia perked up slightly at the mention of Padmé. “You knew Senator Amidala?”

_Bless you, Bail, for not making Leia entirely ignorant of her parentage._

Zelina nodded. “Padmé was one of my closest and longest friends. I’d known her as long as I knew Obi-Wan. The only person I’d known longer was also probably the only person who knew _her_ better, and that was Anakin Skywalker.”

“Luke’s father?” Leia guessed.

Zelina leaned back slightly before she figured Luke had told her. “Yes, Anakin was Luke’s father.”

Leia nodded. “He mentioned you were his mother. I was a little surprised, but—”

“That’s not—” Zelina cut her off before laughing softly. “Not the way you think. I raised him, yes. Anakin had me promise to take care of his family before he died,” she explained gently.

Leia looked thoughtful, and Zelina could guess what the next question would be. Before Leia could ask who Luke’s mother was, Zelina started to guide them back on topic—things were already going to be complicated once the information of Luke’s father got out, and she didn’t want to further complicate things with all the political issues revealing Padmé as Luke’s mother would bring.

“You remind me of her, by the way. Padmé,” Zelina added for clarification. Leia seemed mildly surprised by the switch away from Luke’s parentage, but in the end respected Zelina not wanting to talk about it. Instead, she allowed a moment of flattery in Zelina’s statement about Leia’s resemblance to Padmé.

“I’ve heard about her in my studies, and my father mentioned her a few times. She’s one of the people I look up to,” Leia admitted.

Zelina felt her heart warm at the news, nodding slowly. “She was a good woman…a good role model to have,” she said softly. “Now, back business,” Zelina said with a small shake, forcing herself not to get distracted by the tangents.

“Why bring the Death Star plans to me?” Zelina asked. “I know Obi-Wan’s helping the Alliance, so it can’t be because I’m Force Sensitive…and only four people in the universe knew where I was hiding with Luke.”

“The Empire was after us. Obi-Wan was too far away for me to bring the plans to him, and…well, I assume there was a discussion, and since Tatooine was much closer, it was the obvious choice. The galaxy needs you,” Leia said calmly.

“Don’t get me wrong, Leia, I’m not complaining,” Zelina quickly expanded. “Force knows Luke and I were getting restless on that rock—there’s only so long you can live on that planet before you start to lose some of your sanity. And I think a few more days, and Luke would have been fleeing the planet on his own if he had to,” she said with a smirk, earning a small smile from Leia.

“I was just wondering what brought you our way, instead of turning to Obi-Wan. Now I know,” Zelina finished. “Just a couple more questions, and then you should probably get some rest before we arrive.”

“If anyone needs rest on this ship, I’d wager it’s you,” Leia returned.

She wasn’t wrong. Zelina did want to get some rest to recover what strength she’d lost in her fight. But that wasn’t the point.

“Even so,” Zelina said pointedly, though she respectfully dropped the topic lest she come off as trying to be parental. “I know that, with who Luke’s father is, once the Empire gets a hold of his name, they’re going to do everything in their power to get their hands on him—or kill him, depending on their mood. Anything the Alliance can do to try and keep his name under wraps as long as possible would be much appreciated. I know it won’t last forever, but the longer I have to prepare him, the better,” Zelina said seriously.

Leia nodded. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll ask around and see what we can do. You might want to have a conversation with him about that now so he doesn’t go around telling everyone he’s a Skywalker,” she added in amusement.

“Trust me, I will,” Zelina said with a small smile of her own. “And, if you don’t mind me asking, where’s our next stop?”

“The Yavin system. One of the planet’s moons has been serving as our base for some time, now. We’re stationed in the remains of a Massassi Temple.”

Zelina nodded, rising from her seat, with Leia following suit. “Thank you, Leia. If you ever need anything, I’d be happy to help, no matter what it is,” Zelina said softly, giving the young woman a gentle smile. “In the meantime, you should get some rest. The bunks are all the way down the hall, then a sharp right past the lounge chairs. Follow that hall and it’ll lead you straight to them.”

Leia nodded, leading the way as the two headed back to the _Falcon’_ s hall. “Thank you…I’m glad you’ll be joining us in the fight to come, if I’m not too bold to assume so.”

Zelina didn’t quite answer, instead only smiling and inclining her head, watching as Leia disappeared down the rest of the hall while Zelina remained rooted in place.

She had a feeling when she did finally answer that question, she was going to cause several unpleasant…bumps, whether that was in someone’s plans, their idea for the ideal answer, or whatever else she might disrupt. But she had her own priorities, and her own experiences that caused her to approach things far differently than what seemed to be expected of her.

What she’d felt in the Force when she’d prodded at her future tried to float back to the front of her mind, but Zelina shook it off, determined not to be distracted by things she had no control over, at least not yet. She needed to stay focused on the now and on Luke, as well as pound out the details for her rough idea of the near future.

Speaking of Luke and the future, she needed to have a few more words with the young man before they landed…

Zelina made her way back down the _Falcon_ ’s hall towards the main hold, the many thoughts she had to plague her swimming around in her mind. Thoughts of Luke, of Leia, of the dark sider, of the Rebellion, the future, and Anakin. There were always thoughts of Anakin, though, in one way or another. He’d died years ago, and yet he was still with her every day, like a ghost that haunted her from the shadows.

At least she had a little light to keep the darker memories away…at least, while she was awake.

Luke had apparently left Han behind in the cockpit and was sitting at the holotable looking surprisingly disheartened. For a moment, Zelina worried he might be picking up on her own mood, or that he had taken her admonishment earlier a little harder than she’d intended. Carefully, she slid into the seat next to him, shaking the young Skywalker out of whatever low-spirited thoughts he’d been having. Before he could do more than sit up a little straighter, Zelina’s hand gently covered his own, drawing his full attention to her.

“Before we arrive at the Rebel Base, I want to lay down a few ground rules. And they’re serious rules I need you to keep in mind from here on out, okay?”

Luke seemed to be stuck between caution and curiosity, but he still nodded slowly. “All right…why, are you expecting trouble from the Rebellion?”

Zelina’s lips twitched towards a smile. “Not in the way you think,” she said simply, not wanting to give him any assurance before she could assess the Rebellion for herself. “The biggest thing I’m worried about right now…is actually your name.”

Now he was really confused. “What about it?”

Zelina’s grip on his hand tightened slightly by instinct, even though there were no threats at present. “When we were on Tatooine, I wasn’t worried about anyone finding out who you are. There are other Skywalkers in the universe, and no one was looking for you, anyway. Now, once we start fighting the Empire, that name is going to make you a target.”

“We’ll already be targets,” Luke pointed out.

“Yes, but that will be different. If word starts getting around about a twenty-ish year old Jedi wielding Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, trained by Zelina Du’ahn, not to mention having the last name Skywalker _himself_ …the Emperor is going to do everything in his power to either turn you, or kill you. Maybe not just the Emperor, either,” Zelina said seriously. “We can’t avoid it forever, but I’d like to hold off that intense of an onslaught as long as possible, so that you have a bit more time to prepare for it. And to do that, we need to be very careful about who knows your name, who even _hears_ it. Understand?”

“That’s something that will be a little difficult to control, don’t you think?” Luke asked doubtfully.

“It is, but there’s ways to do it. I already mentioned it to Leia, and she’ll be working on the Rebellion end to keep your name a secret. Doing so also will require some effort on your part. You can tell people you already know, or people you know for sure we can trust, but the rest…it’s best to keep it to yourself.”

She was about to leave it at that, but to her surprise, something else was playing around on the edge of her lips. “You might want to be careful about giving out your first name, too.”

That one was a surprise to Luke—she could feel as much in the Force. It was a surprise to her, too. “What harm could my _first_ name do?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just a feeling. And I trust those feelings more than I trust basic reasoning,” Zelina said, giving his hand another squeeze. “Just be mindful. And if you’re not certain whether it’s a time to keep your name secret or share it, try to find some guidance in the Force. It won’t be a secret forever, but the longer we can _keep it_ a secret, the longer you have to adjust and prepare.  Okay?”

Luke nodded.  “Is that the only rule?”

“Just one more,” Zelina promised.  “I know it sounds odd, but…once we land, don’t go making any commitments yet.  As in don’t go officially signing onto the Rebellion when I’m not looking, okay?”

Luke was taken aback.  “I thought the plan was always to join the Rebellion once we left Tatooine.”

She chose her words very carefully, not wanting to sound like she wanted inaction, or to turn and walk away after they helped this one time—that wasn’t the case.  “I want to get a good feel of the Rebellion before we make any decisions—so we know what exactly we’re getting into.  And I want to make sure the Jedi work _with_ the Rebellion, not _for_ the Rebellion.”

“Obi-Wan’s probably an official Rebellion member,” Luke countered.

“And that’s Obi-Wan’s choice if that’s the case,” Zelina returned patiently.  “Call me jaded, but after what happened to the Jedi Order after it was tied to the Republic specifically, I’m a little wary about signing up _under_ Rebellion leadership.  That doesn’t mean we won’t help or do our part, I just want to make sure we still have the autonomy to do what we need to.  I know you’re not thinking about it now, but I’m sure you wouldn’t like to find yourself in a position where you know one thing is right, but the Rebellion won’t let you do said right thing.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Luke started to scoff, but Zelina cut him off.

“It could.  People in the galaxy think very differently, Luke, and everyone has their own goals.  What you think is right won’t always line up with someone else’s idea of what’s right, and sometimes that’s going to lead to conflict.  It’s just a fact of life—especially in times of war.”

“Don’t you think this is all a little cynical?”

Zelina shrugged.  “I’d rather be cynically cautious and safe than optimistically reckless and dead,” she said pointedly.  Luke slumped slightly in his seat, brows furrowed as he stewed over these two rules she’d just dropped on him.  “But that’s all I’m going to ask of you for now, okay?  Just be careful who you share your name with—for your own safety—and wait until we know what we’re getting into before we officially sign on to help the Rebellion.”

Luke nodded, though he was starting to show signs of sulking, shoulders slightly hunched and eyes not quite meeting her own.  Zelina leaned in, giving him a soft kiss on the head.  “You got what you wanted—we’re in the fight now.  But it’s going to be a lot more complicated than waving a lightsaber and shooting down a few TIEs.”

She gave his hand one last squeeze, then shimmied her way out of the seat, taking a moment to stretch before she turned towards the bunk in the main hold.  “I’m going to get some rest before we arrive—you might want to think about doing the same.”

Luke mumbled something unintelligible in response, but Zelina didn’t press him, sliding into the bunk with a soft sigh and letting her eyelids droop shut.


	11. Preparations

“Mother…Mother, we’re coming out of hyperspace.”

Luke’s soft-spoken words roused Zelina from her nap, one hand reaching out to remind herself of the ceiling above the bunk before she sat up.  She brushed the hair out of her face and rubbed at her eyes, stifling a yawn as she looked to see Luke still standing beside the bunk with Threepio and Artoo waiting just behind him.

“Did you get any rest?” she asked as she got to her feet, moving to pick her bag back up from where it had been stashed during their trip.

“Not that much, no,” Luke admitted a little sheepishly.

“Some is better than none.”

The ship gave the familiar shudder of reverting between realspace and hyperspace, telling Zelina that they had officially reached the rebellion.  A nervous flutter went through her stomach, as well as a squirm at the thought of all the old faces she could be seeing again, soon.

Ten years she’d lived without anyone knowing her from before—now she’d have her past connected with her name once more…and it scared her, to a degree.

All these people would be expecting a Jedi General from the Clone Wars, but she’d changed drastically while on Tatooine.  She could still lead if she needed to, but if they were expecting a tranquil Jedi Master, they were in for a rude awakening.

_One step at a time.  If you try to plunge right back into things, you’re going to drown.  Remember how to swim, first._

She glanced at Luke as the thought crossed her mind, making a mental note to teach him to swim once she got the chance.

There weren’t exactly ample opportunities to teach survival skills for a range of climates on Tatooine.

“You remember the rules?” she asked Luke casually as they made their way to the _Falcon_ ’s hall, waiting casually by the landing ramp.

Luke wilted slightly, but nodded.  “Don’t join the Rebellion yet, and try to keep my name to myself.”

Zelina felt sympathy pull at her heartstrings at the downcast edge in his expression.  He probably hated that the secrets were continuing, that he couldn’t entirely be himself yet like he’d thought he’d be able to once they left Tatooine.  Not to mention, he—like his father—valued honesty.  Loyalty meant he’d keep secrets if he had to, but he tried to be as honest as possible.

That also probably came from the fact that Zelina had always tried her hardest to be as honest with Luke as possible, maybe even more-so than she’d been with Anakin.

As for joining the Rebellion, he’d been chomping at the bit to get involved, be a Jedi, and make a difference for years now.  He wanted to jump right into it now that the chance was finally here.  Zelina was a far more experienced, a little more cautious, and—thankfully—the one in charge.

But she also understood his restlessness.

Gently, she placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Chin up—we can still do our part, and I’m sure they’ll have plenty for us to lend a hand with.  For now, you should be bracing yourself for a culture shock.”

Luke looked at her quizzically.  “What do you mean?”

A wry smile played across her lips, and she couldn’t help but answer cryptically as her hand dropped away again.  “Not every planet is Tatooine.”

Personally, she was looking forward to seeing Luke’s reaction to a planet—or in this case, moon—that wasn’t made up of sand and rock.  It would detract some from the plans she had in mind for after this Death Star crisis was handled, but she was sure those plans would still garner a priceless reaction from Luke, too.

The ship was jostled as it settled on solid ground, quickly followed by the sound of pressure releasing and the hum of the ramp lowering.  Before the ramp could even finish lowering, Leia was with them, which prompted Zelina to step aside so the Rebellion would see a familiar face before they saw four strangers.

Leia started down the ramp before it finished lowering, ducking under the floor of the _Falcon_ as she stepped down onto the weathered stone ground beneath and disappeared from view.  Zelina nudged Luke and nodded towards where Leia disappeared.

“Come on, we probably don’t want to lose sight of her if we wanna know what’s going to happen,” she told him, already making her way down the ramp.  Luke stayed at her side as they descended, which gave Zelina the perfect chance to watch for his reaction to the jungle moon.

Ducking her head low as she cleared the floor of the _Falcon_ , Zelina took in the stone layered space they’d settled on, realizing that Han had settled the ship inside of the temple Leia had said the Rebellion was stationed in.  Turning her head, she could see a thick forest just beyond the mouth of the temple, the tangle of jungle a shocking sight of green after so long on Tatooine.  Still, Zelina took a moment to close her eyes and breathe in the scent of earth and fresh air, complete with a hint of past rain.  It clashed with the scent of the hangar they were stationed in, of metal and oil, but she could still smell it, a welcome scent after so long of arid, sandy desert.

As she let out an equally long breath, she opened her eyes to sneak a peek of the young man beside her.  Luke’s head was craned upwards to look at the vaulted ceiling of the ground floor hanger, walls covered in vines crawling across the stone surfaces.  He already had awe dawning in his eyes before his gaze even reached the sight of the jungle, expression lighting up at the sight of the X-Wings that resided in the hangar before he finally caught sight of the thick wash of green outside of the temple.  Zelina had to hide a smile as a wonder-filled shock flickered across his face, roaming eyes now glued to the green beyond.

Leia was speaking with someone a few feet ahead of them, an older man with a large white beard—someone Zelina guessed was important to the Alliance.  Whatever they were talking about, if they had passed the topic of pleasantries and condolences, it was probably something they wanted to hear.  Zelina laid a hand on Luke’s shoulder, drawing the young man’s attention away from the expanse of jungle and back to the present situation.

Before Zelina could say anything, Han made his appearance, descending the _Falcon_ ’s ramp with a harsh scowl on his face.  Zelina’s eyebrows rose at the smuggler’s expression, deciding he probably wasn’t going to say anything if she asked…or that she was going to get a hot-headed, one-sided opinion.

“Did I miss something while I was asleep?” Zelina murmured to Luke.  The young man took one look at Han and seemed to instantly know what Zelina was missing.

“Leia thinks the ship’s being tracked,” he explained.  Zelina’s reaction was instant.

“Oh, definitely.”

Luke stared at her for a few seconds, as if he was waiting for a punchline of some kind.  “…I’m not picking up on any sarcasm.”

“Because I’m serious,” Zelina replied, gesturing behind them to indicate their escape from the Death Star.  “Our escape was rather easy—if they really wanted to draw us back in, they would have sent far more than four TIEs that were trying harder to simply buzz the _Falcon_ than get in a kill shot or disable the hyperdrive.  They’re definitely tracking us.”

Luke looked shocked, even a little alarmed.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because there was no point—if I’d insisted that we stop somewhere and look for a tracker before we arrived, the Empire would have found us before we could find that tracker, and we’d be right back in the mess we’d just escaped.  If the plans Artoo has have a weakness somewhere in them, we’ll probably have a better chance here,” she answered.

Luke seemed to reluctantly agree with Zelina’s reasoning, though he still looked upset that she hadn’t said anything.  She would have, but her mind had been focused on other things—things that she could do, and the rest she needed if she was going to stay ready for more action.

“You could have at least said something,” Luke muttered.

Zelina chose to let the conversation end there, turning her attention instead to Leia and the older man with her as Han, Chewbacca, and the droids joined their small party.

“…information in this droid is our only hope,” Leia was saying, gesturing towards Artoo as the astromech droid wheeled up to them.  “If we don’t stop the Empire here, no one will be able to stop them,” she added grimly.

As she finished speaking, a group of pilots hurried forwards and picked up Artoo to carry him almost reverently away so that the Death Star information they so desperately needed could be extracted.  That, however, would take some time.

The man Leia had been addressing turned to face the rest of their group, appraising the smattering of Force users and smugglers.  “While we wait…perhaps you’d like to tell me about your companions?”

 _Here we go_ , Zelina thought, taking care to hold back a reflexive grimace.

“This is Captain Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca, they helped to break me out of my cell on the Death Star so we could escape.  And this is who I was supposed to be delivering the plans to—Jedi General Zelina Du’ahn, and her son,” Leia introduced, graciously leaving out Luke’s name so it could be their decision to let the man know Luke’s identity.

His countenance seemed to perk up upon hearing Zelina was a Jedi—and a General from the Clone Wars, as well.  He also seemed understandably confused when Leia introduced Luke as Zelina’s son, and even more so by the fact Leia didn’t introduce him with his name as she had everyone else.  However, he easily overlooked Luke and the others, turning his attention instead to the person he seemed to think was the greatest asset.  That, of course, was Zelina.

“General Dodonna.  It’s reassuring to know we’ll have a Master Jedi on our side in the coming fight,” the man said somberly.  Part of Zelina told her to leave it alone, to let him have his misplaced hope, but she couldn’t help but correct the mistake.

“I’m sure it is, General, though I must admit, I never reached the rank of Master while the Order was still standing, and I doubt the Order would consider me still a Jedi if they saw me now,” she admitted evenly before reaching out to put a steady hand on Luke’s shoulder.  “He, on the other hand, is training to be a Jedi, and is already damn good at it, too.  If anyone’s going to be called a Jedi around here, it’s him.”

The general glanced at Luke doubtfully, to Zelina chagrin, but she kept the negative emotion suppressed, knowing it was to be expected.  Luke _was_ still what the clones would have called a Shiny.  All training, no experience.  Not to mention he was still young.

Though considering everything she’d done by the time she was his age, youth shouldn’t have had anything to do with it.

“But those are conversations for another day,” Zelina added softly, starting to walk to encourage their small group not to linger in the hangar.  “What you said—is Obi-Wan and his family not here?” Zelina asked curiously.

Dodonna shook his head.  “No.  They were in another part of the galaxy when we obtained the plans, and are still light years away.  Not that I would want them here right now, anyway.  If the Empire is indeed headed here now, I’d rather the Alliance not lose all of our Jedi assistance at once in the case that we lose this fight.”

All of the Jedi assistance…that meant if any other Jedi had managed to survive through the past twenty years or so, they hadn’t stepped forward to join the Rebellion yet.  Not that Zelina could blame them—the Rebellion hadn’t been doing well recently when it came to opposing the Empire.

“How much of Alliance leadership is here?” Zelina asked, thinking that if this was the Rebellion’s main base, surely there were quite a few of them here.

“Not much.  After the fight over Scariff, our leadership spread across the galaxy so the Empire couldn’t strike us from the galaxy in one move.  There’s only a few generals here besides myself, and now Princess Leia,” Dodonna informed her, and Zelina did her best to keep her expression neutral.

What they had was what they would get, then.  Not to mention, any discussions with Alliance leadership about Zelina and Luke’s involvement in the Rebellion moving forward wasn’t going to be discussed anytime soon.  That might lead to some confusion later, but for now…for now she needed to keep her mind focused on the fact that Death Star monstrosity was most likely headed right for them.

“Well, whatever the situation is, we’re ready to do our part in the coming fight,” Zelina assured Dodonna, a small suspicion growing in her mind that this was most likely going to be a flight mission and not one that involved a suicide mission inside the Death Star.

“I hope you’re not including me in that ‘we’ stuff,” Han suddenly protested from where he’d been listening to the conversation, brining the group to a halt as he stepped around to get everyone’s attention.  “I didn’t sign up for any of this, I signed up for a transport job that I still need to be paid for.”

Zelina was about to satiate the smuggler, but before she could, Leia’s temper flared to life in Anakin-like brilliance beside her as the other Skywalker twin snapped at him.

“You’ll get your money.  Then you’ll be free to run from a fight worth something to go spend your credits on nothing,” Leia said coldly.

Zelina’s eyebrows rose at her tone, watching as the Princess turned on her heel and stalked deeper into the base.

She’d have to keep an eye on that one.  Anakin’s temper matched with the twins’ Force potential, even if Leia’s abilities were latent, was dangerous.  Luke had a bit of a temper, too, but Zelina had worked to subtly curb that temper in the hopes he wouldn’t make Anakin sized mistakes.  It seemed nobody had bothered to do that for Leia—or at least, those around her hadn’t known it was important to do so.

* * *

Sifting through the information Artoo held to find the weakness in the Death Star took several precious hours, hours that found Zelina getting more and more restless as the time passed.  She had to skillfully dodge several questions about officially joining the Rebellion in that time, which earned her sharp, suspicious gazes from Leia more than once.  Still, Zelina stuck to her plans, and she stayed close to Luke to make sure nobody tried to ambush the young Skywalker and pressure him into joining up when Zelina wasn’t around.  Partially to keep him by her side, Zelina had him join her in the hangar as they received a rundown of the controls of the Rebellion’s favorite fighter ships, the X-Wings.  Luke had a much easier time grasping the controls, considering X-Wings were extremely similar to the T-16 in controls.  Zelina, however, hadn’t flown in quite some time, since the T-16 had been Luke’s ship, which meant she’d left it largely alone.

That didn’t mean she hadn’t paid attention over the years, and she’d still picked up a few holodiscs about flying and recent ship models.  She’d never been the piloting addict Anakin was, but she knew she could still be handy in a fight if she could keep her skills from falling _entirely_ out of practice.

Luke didn’t have to go through the flight simulators after Zelina’s explanation to the pilots who helped them about how skilled he already was and his experience with the T-16.  Zelina, however, insisted that she be allowed several runs through the simulator so that she could figure out the controls and brush off the dust on her skills now while the Alliance was stuck in the tense hours of waiting and preparation before any action was taken.

So that’s what she had been doing while they waited, and what she was doing even now.  Luke would pop up between her simulations and give her a quick overview of what she could do to improve, reminding her of any controls she’d neglected in the recent run.  She didn’t put him down or belittle him in any way.  He was the better pilot between the two of them, and while Zelina might have had more battle experience than Luke, including for starship battles, that experience was twenty years old, and Luke had been flying far more than her in recent years.  Besides, he was probably enjoying the chance to teach her for a change—even if it did feel a little strange.

She was improving.  She wasn’t as clueless as she would have been had she just jumped into an X-Wing come time for a fight, but she was still lacking.  Thankfully, what she was lacking in, she was sure she could make up for with her Force Abilities once she was actually in a fight.  Then again, she’d been used to the Interceptors during the Clone Wars, a ship that focused on speed and agility.  The X-Wings seemed to be designed to be well rounded in all areas of flight combat, including having a hyperdrive to allow it to escape.

She’d have to adapt.  During the Clone Wars she’d had Anakin, who had been able to modify their ships to have a functioning but restricted hyperdrive, shields…

There was no use dwelling on those thoughts.  She didn’t have Anakin around to modify ships to their liking anymore, not to mention there wasn’t an Interceptor on the base.

Zelina grit her teeth as one of the TIEs in her simulator scored a glancing shot along one of the X-Wing’s foils, now having to compensate for the damage in how she approached her piloting while she was also adjusting to the controls itself.  She swung around sharply to place the offending TIE firmly in her scopes, firing a little too early when her old instincts kicked in.

 _You’re expecting it to move to quickly—you need to give the ship long enough to get where you want it to be.  It doesn’t have the same agility as what you flew in the Clone Wars_ , Luke’s voice reminded her in her head, and she forced herself to ignore her instincts for once in her life in favor of being a little more patient with the X-Wing.

She could shoot down quite a few TIEs now, and she wasn’t constantly getting shot down as she had at first.  Personally, she was pretty sure she was at least cleared for flight by now—at least she hoped she was.  She was still going to try and improve in the simulations while she had time, so that she could erase as many doubts about letting her fly as possible.

She had an alert about the damage done to the TIE, but from what she could tell, it wasn’t anything that would keep her from finishing the simulated dogfight.  So she largely ignored the alert, only keeping it in mind enough to remind herself to make the necessary adjustments to her piloting as she continued after the TIE that had caused the damage in the first place.  The TIE had the agility she wanted, and she felt a spark of jealousy that the Empire had the kind of ship she desired.

Well…sort of.

Taking more care in allowing the ship to get where she wanted it to before attacking, she made another sharp turn, waiting until the TIE lined up in her crosshairs to fire, which earned her the sight of the TIE’s destruction.  She didn’t spend time reveling in its end, instead taking another sharp turn to face the remaining TIE forces she had to face in this TIE simulation.  Of course, her ship was still in bad shape, so she would have to take care if she wanted to make it through this simulation intact.

Within moments she took note of where the remaining two TIEs from this particular round were flying, picking the one farthest from the others to speed towards.  Her predatory approach wasn’t far from what she would have preferred back in the Clone Wars, and old instincts helped her further separate the TIE from the other two, wedging herself between the ship and its group.  A quick burst of fire pushed the TIE further away, allowing Zelina to follow close behind and start lining the TIE up in her sights.  By the time the other two had swung around to target her, she’d already opened fire and destroyed the third, allowing her to turn her attention to the other two.

* * *

Luke watched from the sidelines as his mother neared the end of yet another simulator run, a small frown of concern starting to make it’s way into his features.  Up until now he hadn’t been worried about his mother’s ability to take care of herself.  Now, seeing her run the simulators and struggling to adjust to the X-Wing controls, he worried about if she really would be all right up in dogfight.

She was doing better, yes…but not enough for him to feel comfortable with the thought of her going up and joining them in a fight.  Though in the end, how he felt about it didn’t matter—it wasn’t up to him, and his mother didn’t need _his_ approval to join a fight.  He was the one who needed permission.

As Zelina made it to the last two TIEs with some damage to her ship, someone came to a stop beside Luke.

“That pilot’s been in there for a while now, haven’t they?” came a voice a few seconds later.  Luke turned enough to look at the dark haired man in the orange flight suit standing next to him, trying to place the indiscernible emotion he’d heard in the other’s voice.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t anything positive like awe or respect.  If Luke had to give it some kind of label, he would say something along the lines of, ‘Who’s trying to look like a pilot?’

“She’s trying to get a feel for the X-Wing controls while she has the time.  She’s flown before, just not in any ships like an X-Wing.  She’s used to faster, lighter ships, so she’s trying to overcome those instincts,” Luke explained, doing his best to come to his mother’s defense without sounding too defensive.

“She’s used to TIE fighters?” the man asked, a note of suspicion creeping into his voice.  Obviously that question was meant to fish for more information.

Luke bristled at the unspoken suggestion that his mother was an Imperial.  “No.  She used to fly Interceptors during the Clone Wars.”

He could see the man staring at Luke out of the corner of his eyes while Luke refused to take his attention off of the simulator in front of him.  His mother had just performed a well-executed feint—especially since her ship was damaged—and was closing in for the kill on the last TIE.

“She fought in the Clone Wars?  Was she a Separatist?”

“What makes you assume that?” Luke asked indifferently.

“Well, from what I’ve heard about the Clone War, almost everyone who fought for the Republic were clones or Jedi.”

“She wasn’t a separatist,” Luke said bluntly, hoping that was going to be the end of the conversation.  The pilot seemed to take the hint, allowing a brief silence to settle between them as he shifted his weight.  Eventually, the pilot spoke again.

“Well, I’m making the rounds to tell everyone that there’s going to be a debriefing in about ten, fifteen minutes.  It sounds like they’ve figured out how to take out that Imperial weapon.”

Luke felt a cold thrill go down from his chest to his gut.  This was it, then—he was about to be in his first real battle.  A soft rattle made him look down to see a tremor in his hand had caused the latch on his father’s lightsaber to rattle against the handle, and he quickly dropped his hand away from its relaxed position on the weapon so no one else could see the tick.

Finally, his mother finished off the final TIE, the simulation lingering for a few moments before it powered down.  Zelina nimbly leapt from the simulator, a disgruntled expression showing she still wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.  She wanted more progress, though considering the rebels were about to meet for a debriefing, she was officially out of practice time.

Zelina spotted Luke, making her way over to him as her eyes did a quick scan of the man standing next to Luke.  “Better…but not anywhere near where I want to be.  I miss my old ship.

“Are you sure you want to be up there?  Not down here?” Luke couldn’t help but ask.  He couldn’t quite stifle his concern of what could happen if she joined a fight in an X-Wing.

“I believe it’s where I’ll be needed.  Besides, I’d be useless on the ground in a fight against that station,” she said pointed.

Luke nodded.  He still didn’t like it, and nothing was about to assuage those concerns before the fight, so he simply dropped the subject.

Even as a selfish corner of his mind whispered of his relief that if they failed, and the moon this rebel base was on ended up destroyed…at least his mother would still be alive if she was in a ship and managed to hold her own in the space battle.

“They’re ready for the briefing,” Luke chose to say instead.

Zelina nodded, clapping Luke on the shoulder.  “Lead the way, then.  We wouldn’t want to be late to that.”

* * *

_Proton torpedoes into the exhaust port, only a few minutes to get a perfect shot in a two meter target most likely amidst a dog fight and surface defenses.  It’s only been almost twenty years since you were in a real dogfight in a fighter._

Zelina turned the flight helmet over in her hands, adjusting the flight suit for what must have been the thousandth time.  The last time she had to wear full gear, it had been the start of the Clone Wars, and the occasional trip outside a ship in space.  Full gear for flights was just another thing she needed to adjust to.

Her X-Wing loomed over her, no astromech and a few crew members rushing to make sure the ship was ready.  General Dodonna stood nearby, worried eyes flickering between the ship and Zelina.

“Are you _absolutely sure_ you want to go up there, Master Du’ahn?” Dodonna stressed.

_He knows how poorly the simulation runs went.  Now he wants to protect his new asset by keeping it on the ground._

“It’s where I’m needed, General.  I’m no ace pilot, but I can hold my own, and you need all the help on this mission that you can get.”  As she spoke, Zelina finally pulled the helmet on, securing the strap and mounting the ladder.

“And what about your son?” Dodonna asked, as if he’d just made some kind of point.

“He’s going up, too, isn’t he?”

“You still haven’t even told any of us his name.”

“General, if we survive this, we’re going to have far more to talk about than his name,” Zelina finished evenly, her tone signaling the end of the conversation.  Dodonna had to get to the command center anyway, neither of them had time to spend on little details that could be handled later.

Speaking of Luke…

As she crested the top of the ladder, Zelina took a moment to pause and look for the young Skywalker amidst the sea of ships, techs, droids, and pilots.  His X-Wing was a little ways away from hers, noticeable by the blue and white astromech and the shock of blonde hair belonging to the pilot climbing into the cockpit.

She probably should have been the one with Artoo considering how out of her element she was—Luke had even argued as much—but she wanted Luke to have all the protection he could get, just to be safe.

Then, isolated off to the side, was the _Millennium Falcon_.  Zelina felt a twinge of regret and disappointment at the sight.  She hated to see the smuggler go—he’d been a good friend of both hers and Luke over the years…but she hadn’t meant to pull him in this far, and she understood his reluctance to join the fight.

Yes, reluctance.  Not outright refusal (even though that was the outward impression he was displaying), but reluctance and hesitation.

She partially wanted to go see him before the fight, before he left…but there was no time for that now.  The Death Star was in the system, and they only had so much time to get in the air and stop it before another planet was destroyed.  There was no time for a final meeting before he left, unfortunately.

Zelina climbed into the cockpit of her borrowed X-Wing, allowing a doubtful skimming glance over the controls in the cockpit now that she was officially cut off from prying eyes.  One hand wandered over the controls a half-second behind her gaze, doing a quick inventory to reinforce the controls within her memory.  She noticed a slight shake in her hand, choosing to grip the flight controls to hide the motion.

Even when there was no one around to see, she still kept up the ruse…

Up ahead, the red heat of X-Wing engines began to rise above the din of activity, signaling it was time to go.  Strangling the thoughts that haunted her in idle moments back into submission, Zelina quickly started firing up the systems, fingers hesitating here and there as she mentally made sure she knew what she was activating.  The X-Wings around her were already moving into the air when she finally got the fighter powered up and ready to join them, carefully easing the ship into the air and waiting a few seconds for the ships in front of her to leave the hangar before she followed suit.

Into the stars, straight towards a harbinger of death.


End file.
